RSN: House Republicans' Latest Bad Idea: Impeaching the IRS Chief , Chicago Cops Have "Disappeared" More than 7,000 People at Secret Interrogation Warehouse, Asylum Seeker Shot by Guard, Beaten to Death by Israeli Mob in Case of Mistaken Identity

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George W. Bush's Military Lies: The Real Story About the Undeniable Service Gaps He Got Away With

Paul Rosenberg, Salon
Rosenberg writes: "The gaps in Bush's service record were undeniable. They were reported, but virtually ignored, in the 2000 election cycle, when the media was monomaniacally focused on their self-fabricated narrative of Gore being the untrustworthy one who told tall tales about his past."
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Chicago Cops Have "Disappeared" More than 7,000 People at Secret Interrogation Warehouse
Matt Agorist, The Free Thought Project
Agorist writes: "As Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanuel blames the 'YouTube Effect' for the animosity towards police, more than 7,000 people were secretly detained and held without due process in his town. Apparently, none of the victims, their friends, or their family members resent police for holding their loved ones without due process."
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Texas Moves to Kick Planned Parenthood Out of Medicaid
Chuck Lindell, Statesman
Lindell writes: "Texas health officials sent letters Monday informing Planned Parenthood that it is being dropped as a Medicaid health provider, saying undercover videos of fetal tissue practices show that the organization does not operate in a 'professionally competent, safe, legal and ethical manner.'"
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House Republicans' Latest Bad Idea: Impeaching the IRS Chief
Albert R. Hunt, Bloomberg Review
Hunt writes: "If the House Republicans' Benghazi investigation craters after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's testimony this week, the chamber's right-wing caucus has a sequel in mind: attempting the second impeachment of an executive branch appointee in 226 years."
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f the House Republicans' Benghazi investigation craters after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's testimony this week, the chamber's right-wing caucus has a sequel in mind: attempting the second impeachment of an executive branch appointee in 226 years.

The target is Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen. The specifics of any supposed impeachable offenses are vague. Koskinen, 76, is a respected, successful business and government executive who, at the behest of the White House, took on the job of cleaning up the beleaguered tax agency in December 2013, after offenses had been committed.

Since 1789, the House has impeached 19 officials: two presidents, 15 judges, a senator in the 18th century. The only executive branch appointee was William Belknap, President Ulysses S. Grant's war secretary.

Now, the 40-member Freedom Caucus, which played a role in Speaker John Boehner's resignation, wants to try again. The House Oversight Committee, where proceedings would start, is stacked with right-wing Republicans.

The accusations stem from 2013, when the IRS's tax-exempt division was found to have disproportionately targeted conservative groups for scrutiny. Although Koskinen was brought in after the damage had been done, Ohio Representative Jim Jordan and his Freedom Caucus followers say he has tried to cover up some wrongdoing. Some, rather recklessly, accuse him of lying. The tax agency is unpopular and makes an appealing political target.

Democrats say the allegations against Koskinen are unfounded: "It is despicable character assassination," said Representative Gerald Connolly, a Virginia Democrat who serves on the Oversight Committee. "They are manufacturing a phony issue for ideological reasons."

The case has problems. The specific charges seem specious: There may have been miscommunication, but there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Koskinen.

Former Representative Dave Camp of Michigan, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee from 2011 until this year and now a senior policy adviser at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said that while, to him, Koskinen "has been a disappointment" in terms of reforming at the troubled agency, "impeaching the IRS commissioner is not a tactic that will be successful."  

The pre-Koskinen abuses by the IRS's tax-exempt division have been the subject of three inquiries: First, a nine-month investigation by the Treasury's inspector general, a Republican appointed by President George W. Bush. The second was conducted by the General Accountability Office and the third produced a bipartisan Senate Finance Committee report. All were critical of IRS mismanagement, but none found any evidence of illegal activities or political direction from on high.

A New York Times investigation of the IRS's Cincinnati tax-exempt operations described an understaffed, bureaucratic, poorly led office, not one motivated by politics. Moreover, although the IRS was wrong to focus on conservative groups, the underlying skepticism about some applications for tax-exempt status was justified.

The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which allowed torrents of special interest money into campaigns, also encouraged groups to declare themselves principally social welfare organizations that dabble in politics. That designation made them eligible for favorable tax treatment with minimal disclosure requirements. Under pressure from Republicans, the IRS is pulling back from a push for stricter regulation of these groups.

A partisan impeachment probably would seem a foolish distraction from the real issues of jobs, health care, debt and terrorism. It could backfire in the same way as the impeachment of President Bill Clinton 17 years ago, the politically motivated government shutdowns and the fizzling Benghazi inquest is likely to.

The fight within the House Republican caucus reflects less an ideological split than the manifestation of an apocalyptic view from the right-wing minority that the political system has to be destroyed before it can be reformed. That justifies actions such as impeachment.

More than a few Republicans fear their colleagues would be making a huge mistake.

Asylum Seeker Shot by Guard, Beaten to Death by Israeli Mob in Case of Mistaken Identity
Ruth Eglash and William Booth, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "An African asylum seeker was shot by an Israeli guard who mistook him for an assailant and was then kicked by a mob as he lay bleeding before he died, according to a video posted Monday."
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UNICEF: 500,000 Yemeni Children Face Potential Famine and Death
teleSUR
Excerpt: "UNICEF said fewer than 20 percent of food centers are operating in the embattled country. The U.N. body warned the situation is likely to worsen soon."
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1 in 5 American Animal Species Is at Risk of Extinction
Matt Lee-Ashley and Nicole Gentile, Center for American Progress
Excerpt: "The decline of American wildlife is consistent with what experts are calling a global 'sixth mass extinction' in which species are disappearing at a rate that is 100 times to 1,000 times higher than before humans were present."
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RSN: SeaWorld Sees Profits Plunge 84% as Customers Desert Controversial Park, Studies Show Immigrants Make Cities Safer

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Robert Parry | Obama's Pragmatic Appeal for Iran Peace 
 
Robert Parry, Consortium News 
Parry writes: "President Obama defended the Iran nuclear deal and urged Americans to support this initiative for peace, but his choice of American University for the speech invited comparisons with JFK's famous words that 'we all inhabit this small planet' and Obama fell far short of that standard." 
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Trump Clashes With Rivals, Fox Moderators in First GOP Debate 
Jessica Taylor, NPR 
Taylor writes: "On the very first question, Trump refused to promise to back the eventual GOP nominee - unless it's him - and won't rule out launching a third-party bid." 
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Jon Stewart Says Farewell to The Daily Show 
Raya Jalabi, Guardian UK 
Jalabi writes: "Fittingly, the first debate of leading Republican presidential hopefuls ended just moments before Stewart's show aired on Comedy Central, typical fodder for Stewart's acerbic cannon." 
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Bernie Sanders Criticizes Uber for Lack of Regulation 
David McCabe, The Hill 
McCabe writes: "Speaking with Bloomberg, the Democratic presidential contender called the service 'unregulated,' wading into one of the most closely watched economic debates in the nascent 2016 race." 
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US Congressman Calls for Inquiry Into 'Shocking' Detentions at Chicago Police's Homan Square Facility 
Spencer Ackerman and Zach Stafford, Guardian UK 
Excerpt: "The frustrated politicians who called for a federal investigation into Chicago's off-the-books police warehouse have renewed calls for the first official inquiry into the facility, as a direct response to what one of them called a 'shocking' new expose of wholesale detentions." 
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Studies Show Immigrants Make Cities Safer 
Christopher Dickey, The Daily Beast 
Dickey writes: "Politicians would rather talk about horrifying anecdotes and conventional wisdom than look at the facts: Big cities with big immigrant populations are safer cities." 
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SeaWorld Sees Profits Plunge 84% as Customers Desert Controversial Park 
Rupert Neate, Guardian UK 
Neate writes: "SeaWorld has been in the headlines since the 2013 documentary Blackfish detailed claims that its treatment of orca whales provoked violent behaviour contributing to the deaths of three people." 
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RSN: "Irresponsible & Reckless": Environmentalists Decry Obama's Arctic Drilling Approval, Homan Square Detainee: I Was Sexually Abused by Police at Chicago 'Black Site',

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NOTIFICATION TO OUR READERSHIP ON FUNDING - The May 2015 funding drive is coming up well short of funds necessary to maintain service. While the overall volume of donations needed is not large, the pace of contribution is simply too slow. We need 475 donations @ $30. In Earnest. / Marc Ash - Founder, Reader Supported News

Sure, I'll make a donation!

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Matt Taibbi | The Democratic Party Would Triangulate Its Own Mother

Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone
Taibbi writes: "Barack Obama made headlines this week by taking on Sen. Elizabeth Warren in a dispute over our latest labor-crushing free trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership."
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Homan Square Detainee: I Was Sexually Abused by Police at Chicago 'Black Site'
Spencer Ackerman, Guardian UK
Ackerman writes: "Angel Perez, now the 13th person to describe to the Guardian detainment at the secret police site, is joined by four others in a lawsuit seeking justice from the city."
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After Attacking Warren, Obama Having Trouble Selling TPP to Fellow Dems
Mike Lillis and Jordan Fabian, The Hill
Excerpt: "President Obama's sharp rebuke of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) over his ambitious trade agenda is backfiring in the House, where the personal attacks are alienating the same Democrats the president is courting for votes."
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Bernie Sanders' Journey From a Working-Class Brooklyn Family to a Run for the White House
Zeeshan Aleem, Mic
Aleem writes: "He's in Iowa talking about the yawning gap between the rich and the poor. He's on Sunday morning talk shows talking about free college and health care. He is waging a rhetorical war against 'the billionaire class.'"
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Jeb Bush Flip Flops: "I Would Have Not Gone Into Iraq"
Steve Holland, Reuters
Holland writes: "Republican Jeb Bush reversed course and said that based on information now known, had it been up to him he would not have waged war against Iraq, putting some distance between himself and his brother, former President George W. Bush."
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The Government Knows LGBT Immigrants Are Often Raped in Detention. It Puts Them There Anyway.
Dara Lind, Vox
Lind writes: "American immigration officials frequently choose to detain LGBT immigrants - even when their own evaluation system recommends release, putting them at significant risk for sexual abuse, new documents provided by the Center for American Progress show."
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"Irresponsible & Reckless": Environmentalists Decry Obama's Arctic Drilling Approval
Democracy Now!
Excerpt: "The Obama administration has tentatively approved Shell's plans to begin oil extraction off the Alaskan coast this summer."
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RSN: Chicago Cop Beat Wife in Homan Square 'Black Site,' Document Shows

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A protestor stands outside Homan Square, demanding an investigation into the site. (photo: Jim Young/Reuters)

Chicago Cop Beat Wife in Homan Square 'Black Site,' Document Shows

By Ken Klippenstein and Paul Gottinger, Reader Supported News

28 April 15

ocuments obtained by Reader Supported News via the Illinois Freedom of Information Act reveal that a police officer punched his wife multiple times in Homan Square, the Chicago police facility described by The Guardian as “an off-the-books interrogation compound” that denied detainees access to legal counsel. Lawyers have described Homan Square as a domestic “black site.”

The Chicago Police Department insists that it “abides by all laws, rules and guidelines pertaining to any interviews of suspects or witnesses, at Homan Square.” They contend that Homan Square is secretive “because many officers who operate there are often involved in undercover assignments.”

 

A February exposé by The Guardian depicted Homan Square quite differently, stating:

 

“Unlike a precinct, no one taken to Homan Square is said to be booked. Witnesses, suspects or other Chicagoans who end up inside do not appear to have a public, searchable record entered into a database indicating where they are, as happens when someone is booked at a precinct. Lawyers and relatives insist there is no way of finding their whereabouts. Those lawyers who have attempted to gain access to Homan Square are most often turned away, even as their clients remain in custody inside.”

 

According to the documents obtained by RSN, which were authored by the Chicago city government’s Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), officer Maurice Anderson “punched [his wife] on the chest, neck, back and struck her on the face.” Anderson’s wife, Sharita Lewis-Anderson, was then transferred to Mt. Sinai hospital in an ambulance.

 

Doug Johnson Hatlem, a filmmaker who has documented years of Toronto Police violence and is now a Chicago resident, told RSN: “It just goes to show that Homan Square is a completely lawless outpost. Imagine what they are doing to captives they have never vowed to cherish and love forever.”

 

The altercation traced back to Anderson’s theft of his wife’s service weapon. (Lewis-Anderson was also a police officer.) According to testimony provided by Lewis-Anderson’s son, after the theft, Anderson told his wife, “Try going to work without your gun.”

 

Maurice Anderson had been working out in Homan Square’s gym when Lewis-Anderson arrived to retrieve her service weapon, after which Anderson struck her.

 

Anderson was later arrested for theft of his wife’s service weapon, money, car keys, and for “contributing to the neglect of a child” whom he left unattended at the time that he punched his wife. All of these allegations were sustained in the IPRA’s inquiry.

 

Although the document does not specify what disciplinary measures Anderson received from the department, a previous incident in which Anderson struck his wife resulted in just 30 days of unpaid suspension.

 

Despite his actions, Maurice Anderson remains a police officer at the Chicago Police Department, from which he draws an $80,000 annual salary.

 

According to a report by The New York Times about the lack of accountability for police violence against spouses, “In many departments, an officer will automatically be fired for a positive marijuana test, but can stay on the job after abusing or battering a spouse.”

 

Victims of police domestic violence can be reluctant to come forward. As Diane Wetendorf, Chicago resident and author of “Police Domestic Violence,” states, “The biggest problem for a woman reporting that she’s been abused by her police officer husband or boyfriend is that nobody believes you.”

 

“The women get terrified, too, so the crime is very under-reported. There is a legitimate fear of retaliation.”

 

The release of the document on which this story is based comes amidst ongoing protests in the United States calling for police accountability. On Tuesday, riots and protests swept across Baltimore in response to Freddie Gray’s death while in police custody. Baltimore police have themselves admitted that Freddie Gray did not receive timely medical care while in their custody.

FOIA document. (photo: Reader Supported News)

Ken Klippenstein is a staff journalist at Reader Supported News. He can be reached on Twitter @kenklippenstein or via email: ken@readersupportednews.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Paul Gottinger is a staff reporter at RSN whose work focuses on the Middle East and the arms industry. He can be reached on Twitter @paulgottinger or via email.

Acknowledgement: This article could not have happened without the invaluable counsel of attorney Matthew Topic, who specializes in governmental transparency/freedom of information matters for the Loevy & Loevy civil rights law firm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSN: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Clause Everyone Should Oppose, Crude Awakening: How the Keystone Veto Dashes Canada's 'Superpower' Dreams

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Elizabeth Warren | The Trans-Pacific Partnership Clause Everyone Should Oppose

Elizabeth Warren, The Washington Post
Warren writes: "ISDS would allow foreign companies to challenge U.S. laws - and potentially to pick up huge payouts from taxpayers - without ever stepping foot in a U.S. court."
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Why NFL Players Are Taking on Scott Walker
Kavitha A. Davidson, Bloomberg
Davidson writes: "The union released a strongly worded statement yesterday denouncing the state's proposed right-to-work legislation -- which would prohibit businesses and unions from requiring workers to pay union dues -- and reaffirming its solidarity 'with the working families of Wisconsin and organized labor in their fight against current attacks against their right to stand together as a team.'"
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'Gestapo' Tactics at US Police 'Black Site' Ring Alarm from Chicago to Washington
Spencer Ackerman, Zach Stafford, Mark Guarino and Oliver Laughland, Guardian UK
Excerpt: "The US Department of Justice and embattled mayor Rahm Emanuel are under mounting pressure to investigate allegations of what one politician called 'CIA or Gestapo tactics' at a secretive Chicago police facility exposed by the Guardian."
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FCC Votes to Allow Cities to Expand Broadband Networks
Kate Cox, Consumerist
Cox writes: "As expected, the FCC today has confirmed an order permitting two cities to expand their existing municipal fiber broadband networks despite state-level laws that block them from doing so."
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Jeremy Scahill | Gemalto Doesn't Know What It Doesn't Know
Jeremy Scahill, The Intercept
Scahill writes: "Gemalto, which is the largest manufacturer of SIM cards in the world, launched an internal investigation after The Intercept six days ago revealed that the NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ hacked the company and cyberstalked its employees."
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Feminist Writers Are So Besieged by Online Abuse that Some Have Begun to Retire
Michelle Goldberg, The Washington Post
Goldberg writes: "While digital media has amplified feminist voices, it has also extracted a steep psychic price. Women, urged to tell their stories, are being ferociously punished when they do."
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Crude Awakening: How the Keystone Veto Dashes Canada's 'Superpower' Dreams
Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone
Dickinson writes: "Since ultraconservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper - famously described by one Canadian columnist as 'our version of George W. Bush, minus the warmth and intellect' - took power in 2006, he's quietly set his country on a course that seems to be straight from the Koch brothers' road map."
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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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RSN: To Stop Big Oil, Environmentalists Need Labor Unions, Women's Bodies Can't Perform Magic. Someone Please Tell Republicans

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Andy Borowtiz | Republicans Unlearning Facts Learned in Third Grade to Compete in Primary

Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker
Borowitz writes: "In the hopes of appealing to Republican primary voters, candidates for the 2016 Presidential nomination are working around the clock to unlearn everything that they have learned since the third grade, aides to the candidates have confirmed."
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Amy Goodman | Could a Former Activist Unseat Mayor 1%, Rahm Emanuel?
Amy Goodman and Salim Muwakkil, Democracy Now
Exerpt: "Could the second-place challenger, Jesús "Chuy" García, a county commissioner and former immigrant rights activist born in Mexico, defeat the man nicknamed 'Mayor 1 Percent?'"
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Wisconsin Workers Fight Back Against Right to Work
Alice Ollstein, Think Progress
Ollstein writes: "The 'right-to-work' proposal, which will receive limited debate and public input before an expedited vote next week, allows workers to opt out of currently mandatory union fees, forcing unions to provide bargaining and training work without payment."
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Israeli Lawmaker Reveals Government Secretly Pours Billions Into Settlements
Aimee Amiga, Haaretz
Amiga writes: "In an interview for 'The Candidates,' Shaffir tells Aimee Amiga that 'in the last year and a half, the government transferred 1.2 billion shekels as a bonus to the settlements, on top of the budget that they got at the beginning of the year.'"
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Chicago 'Black Site:' Former US Justice Officials Call for Homan Square Inquiry
Spencer Ackerman, The Guardian UK
Ackerman writes: "Two ex-senior Justice Department officials say allegations about police operation are 'very disturbing' and raise serious questions about constitutional violations."
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Jessica Valenti | Women's Bodies Can't Perform Magic. Someone Please Tell Republicans
Jessica Valenti, The Guardian UK
Valenti writes: "One congressman this week thought that if women swallow pills, they end up in their vagina. The GOP still knows nothing about female anatomy."
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To Stop Big Oil, Environmentalists Need Labor Unions
Rebecca Burns, Al Jazeera America
Burns writes: "On Feb. 1, members of the United Steelworkers (USW) launched the first nationwide refinery strike in more than 30 years, representing a crucial opportunity for environmentalists to stand alongside workers taking on Big Oil."
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