CLG: Secret Pentagon report reveals West saw ISIS as strategic asset, Live anthrax 'inadvertently' sent by U.S. military, Israel asking US for 50% increase - to reach $4.5bn - in next defense package

News Updates from CLG
28 May 2015

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

Previous edition: Fukushima leak 'could cause hydrogen explosion' at nuclear plant

Live anthrax 'inadvertently' sent by U.S. military | 28 May 2015 | Four Defense Department workers in the United States and up to 22 overseas have been put in post-exposure treatment, a defense official said, following the revelation the U.S. military 'inadvertently' shipped live anthrax samples in the past several days. CNN learned on Wednesday a Maryland-based lab received the live samples, which prompted an across-the-board urgent review to see whether any other live anthrax has been shipped. Officials are concerned because samples left over at the lab in Dugway, Utah, where the samples originated, were tested and determined to contain live agent. Pentagon spokesman, Col. Steve Warren, said one sample was also sent to the Joint United States Forces Korea Portal and Integrated Threat Recognition Program at Osan Air Base. [A drill gone live?]

Live anthrax shipped across states, to S. Korea 'by accident' - Pentagon | 28 May 2015 | The Pentagon says that live anthrax was 'inadvertently' shipped across state lines from a military lab in Utah to nine other states and a military base in South Korea. However, a Department of Defense spokesperson says the public is not at risk. [?!?] One unnamed US official also told Reuters that anthrax samples were being shipped out from two military facilities for over a year, from March 2014 to April 2015. These samples were mistakenly marked inactive, the official said. While the anthrax samples were first moved out of Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, they were later shipped from Edgewood Chemical Biological Center in Maryland to federal, private and academic facilities.

Secret Pentagon report reveals West saw ISIS as strategic asset | 23 May 2015 | A declassified secret US government document [US Defense Intelligence Agency document then classified as "secret," dated 12 August 2012] obtained by the conservative public interest law firm, Judicial Watch, shows that Western governments deliberately allied with al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] and other Islamist extremist groups to topple Syrian President Bashir al-Assad. The document reveals that in coordination with the Gulf states and Turkey, the West intentionally sponsored violent Islamist groups to destabilize Assad, despite anticipating that doing so could lead to the emergence of an 'Islamic State' in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) [(I-CIA-SIS)]. According to the newly declassified US document, the Pentagon foresaw the likely rise of the 'Islamic State' as a direct consequence of the strategy, but described this outcome as a strategic opportunity to "isolate the Syrian regime."

Insane in the membrane: US infrastructure is *disintegrating,* but Israel needs to carry out more war crimes, so US taxpayers will fund the latter: Israel asking US for 50% increase - to reach $4.5bn - in next defense package | 26 May 2015 | Israel reportedly wants the US to increase its annual defense assistance package by half, to an average [eye-popping] 4.5 billion. Defense News reported this weekend that Israel and US officials have in recent months begun negotiations on the next 10-year aid package. The previous package, negotiated by the George W. Bush and Ehud Olmert governments in 2007, averaged 3 billion of assistance each year, for a total of 30 billion, from 2007-2017.

Australia's search for MH370 under scrutiny | 27 May 2015 | Nearly a year after embarking on a multi-million dollar quest to solve one of aviation's greatest unsolved mysteries, authorities and search teams are being criticised over their approach to finding Flight MH370 in the remote southern Indian Ocean. The Australian-led search, already the most expensive in aviation history, has found no trace of the Malaysia Airlines jet or its 239 passengers and crew, prompting calls for a rethink into the way the mission is conducted. Experts involved in past deep water searches say the search to find MH370 could easily miss the plane as Dutch company Fugro NV, the firm at the forefront of the mission, is using inappropriate technology for some terrain and inexperienced personnel for the highly specialized task of hunting man-made objects. [Check Diego Garcia.]

Supreme Court to consider redefining 'one-person, one-vote' principle [26 May 2015 | The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to define what it meant by "one person, one vote" a half century ago. The justices will consider a challenge brought by two rural voters in Texas who claim their state Senate ballots carry less weight than those cast in urban areas with large numbers of non-citizens ineligible to vote. Under the current system in nearly all states, state legislative districts are drawn with roughly equal populations. The standard dates back to decisions made by the Supreme Court in the early 1960s. [OMG. Apparently, predator/Koch troll Clarence Thomas wants to return to the days of King Henry VIII.]

Why Is the U.S. Desperate to OK Slavery in Malaysia? | 27 May 2015 | On Friday night, in an impressive display of dysfunction, the U.S. Senate approved a controversial trade corporate control bill with a provision that the White House, Senate leadership and the author of the language himself wanted taken out. The provision, which bars countries that engage in slavery from being part of major trade deals with the U.S., was written by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). At the insistence of the White House, Menendez agreed to modify his language to say that as long as a country is taking "concrete" steps toward reducing human trafficking and forced labor, it can be part of a 'trade' deal. Under the original language, the country that would be excluded from the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership pact is Malaysia...Observers are left with a deeper question: Why, in the year 2015, is the White House teaming up with Republican leaders essentially to defend the practice of slavery?

TISA: Yet Another Leaked Treaty You've Never Heard of Makes Secret Rules for the Internet | 27 May 2015 | A February 2015 draft of the secret Trade In Services Agreement (TISA) was leaked again last week, revealing a more extensive and more recent text than that of portions from an April 2014 leak that we covered last year. Together with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), TISA completes a trifecta of trade agreements that the administration could sign under Fast Track without full congressional oversight. Although it is the least well-known of those agreements, it is the broadest in terms of membership.

Rick Santorum runs for White House again | 27 May 2015 | Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who mounted an unexpectedly strong bid for the Republican nomination in 2012, is making another bid for the White House. Santorum launched his campaign on Wednesday evening from a factory in the blue collar town of Cabot, Pennsylvania, on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, with a starkly populist tone. He said that not only "big government," but also "big business" had demolished the American middle class.

Nebraska Bans Death Penalty, Defying a Veto | 27 May 2015 | (Lincoln, NE) Nebraska on Wednesday became the first conservative state in more than 40 years to abolish the death penalty, with lawmakers defying their Republican governor, Pete Ricketts, a staunch supporter of capital punishment who had lobbied vigorously against banning it. After more than two hours of emotional speeches at the Capitol here, the Legislature, by a 30-to-19 vote that cut across party lines, overrode the governor's veto of a bill repealing the state’s death penalty law.

Hundreds Form Search Parties to Seek Survivors in Texas Floods | 27 May 2015 | (Wimberley, TX) They descended on this tiny town in the hundreds on Wednesday, volunteers who spread out on foot, in off-road vehicles and fanboats and even aboard private helicopters to search the wreckage and muck along normally idyllic rivers for seven people still missing three days after floodwaters ravaged the area...This was the largest of many search operations across a region that has been battered since Saturday by severe thunderstorms, flooding and tornadoes, leaving at least 19 people dead in Texas and Oklahoma and 14 in Mexico, with others missing and the toll expected to rise. Two more bodies were found Wednesday, including one of eight people who had been missing from a vacation house here that was carried off and dashed to pieces by the Blanco River.

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CLG: Pipe leak found at Wylfa nuclear power station, US anthrax scare: 86 people possibly exposed to deadly bacteria

News Updates from CLG
22 Jun 2014

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

Previous edition: Obama: US Will Send up to 300 Military Advisers to Iraq, Set up Joint Operation Centers (Google subscribers: Google Filter Instructions for CLG Newsletter.)

US anthrax scare: 86 people possibly exposed to deadly bacteria --CDC: 86 people potentially exposed in US blunder --Live pathogen accidentally sent to low-security labs 20 Jun 2014 On 13 June, scientists at the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) realised they had sent live anthrax to researchers at lower-security labs rather than harmless samples of the pathogen. Anthrax is deadly in most forms and can affect both humans and animals. The spores are highly contagious and are considered a major biological warfare risk. Interviews, CCTV and key card data has been used to to identify anyone who might have been inside one of the two labs.

Ebola outbreak in W.Africa 'totally out of control' - MSF 20 Jun 2014 West Africa is going through the second wave of Ebola outbreak and the deadly virus is now "totally out of control," a senior official at Médecins Sans Frontières said. More than 330 people have died in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since the Ebola disease sprang up in Africa at the beginning of this year, according to the latest figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO). "The reality is clear that the epidemic is now in its second wave. And for me, it is totally out of control," Janssens concluded.

4 western Iraqi towns fall to advancing ISIS militants 22 Jun 2014 A strategic border crossing and three other towns in western Iraq fell Saturday to the control of ISIS militants, a senior Iraqi security official said. In addition to their offensives in northern Iraq, the militants have strengthened their hand in the western province of Anbar, the country's largest geographically, and were controlling Al-Qaim, Rawa, Ana and Husaybah, said the senior official, who's based in Anbar.

Australian troops sent to Iraq to 'help secure embassy' --Australian defence minister would not give troop numbers 19 Jun 2014 Australian troops have been sent to Iraq to secure the Australian embassy. A spokesman for the defence minister, David Johnston, said a "small Australian Defence Force liaison element" had been deployed to the embassy in Baghdad as the security situation deteriorated. The troops are already in the capital but the spokesman would not say when they left Australia. He also would not confirm reports in the Australian Financial Review that the number of troops was about 30.

U.S. officials said to be pushing for the removal of Iraq's leader [Time for a new lackey to protect the oil pipelines!] 19 Jun 2014 U.S. officials are actively pushing for the removal of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki [the current US-installed lackey] and have held meetings with senior politicians who are angling to replace the embattled leader, according to Iraqi officials and a report published Thursday. The U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, Robert S. Beecroft, and a senior State Department official, Brett McGurk, met this week with former Iraqi exile leader CIAciopath Ahmad Chalabi and parliament speaker Osama Nujaifi, as well as other possible candidates to replace Maliki. The Shiite Muslim prime minister has seen large chunks of Iraq seized in recent days by Sunni militants fighting under the banner of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an Al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] splinter group.

Antiwar Protesters Gather Outside Downtown LA Veterans' Hospital 20 Jun 2014 A group of antiwar protesters Thursday gathered outside a veterans' hospital in downtown Los Angeles just as President Obama announced he's sending 300 military advisers to Iraq. The press conference was held at 10 a.m. at the VA Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center, 351 W Temple St.

Putin orders surprise drills to check combat readiness of central Russia forces 21 Jun 2014 All Russian forces in Siberia, the Urals and beyond have been put on combat-ready alert, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said after President Putin ordered surprise drills. Over 65,000 of Russia's troops in the Central Military District have been put on alert to verify troops' combat-readiness during massive war games of all branches of the armed forces. "In accordance with president's order, today starting from 11:00 Moscow time [07:00 GMT] all troops of the Central Military District have been placed in a state of full combat readiness," Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at staff meeting.

Russian checkpoint on Ukraine border comes under fire 20 Jun 2014 Moscow demands explanation from Kiev authorities after a Russian checkpoint on the border between two counties came under shelling on Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. On Friday, the Russian checkpoint of Novoshakhtinsk in Rostov region was shelled by mortars, the Russia's Border Service said. The rounds came from the Ukrainian side. A Russian customs service employee was seriously injured in the fire.

Pentagon crashed more than 400 military drones [Too bad they all didn't crash.] 20 Jun 2014 While unmanned drones have become a popular weapon of choice during the United States' wars in on Iraq and Afghanistan, a new report reveals that hundreds of them have been involved in major accidents around the world. Following an investigation into more than 50,000 pages of federal and military records, the Washington Post found that more than 400 large American drones have crashed since 2001, with almost half of the accidents each causing millions of dollars in damages.

Pipe leak found at Wylfa nuclear power station --In another incident during the outage, the plant failed to protect workers who could have been exposed to radiation but were not provided with a dosimeter. 19 Jun 2014 (Anglesey, UK) Wylfa nuclear power station has been shut down for five-and-a-half months, the Daily Post can reveal. Faults with apparatus followed by a leak in a pipe mean two attempts to restart the Anglesey plant since a shutdown in January have been abandoned. The power station has generated no power since January 6, when the power station was shut down for planned maintenance work.

House approves effort to limit NSA searches of U.S. data 20 Jun 2014 The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to limit the National Security Agency's ability to search U.S. records, after a similar provision was stripped out of a bill intended to rein in the agency. The House, by a 293-123 vote late Thursday, approved a bipartisan proposal to limit the NSA's surveillance programs by requiring the agency to get a court-ordered warrant to search U.S. records in its possession. The proposal, offered as an amendment to a Department of Defense funding bill, would close the so-called "backdoor search" loophole in the FISA Amendments Act, a law allowing NSA surveillance of overseas communications.

Secret Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) 19 Jun 2014 Today, WikiLeaks released the secret draft text for the Tr-de in Services Agreement (TISA) ... Services Annex, which covers 50 countries and 68.2% of world trade in services. The US and the EU are the main proponents of the agreement, and the authors of most joint changes, which also covers cross-border data flow. In a significant anti-transparency manoeuvre by the parties, the draft has been classified to keep it secret not just during the negotiations but for five years after the TISA enters into force.

State Police commander, who served as lead Sandy Hook investigator, dies after brief illness --Podgorski worked as commander of state crime lab and in Division of Homeland Security 17 Jun 2014 (CT) State police Maj. William Podgorski has died after suffering from a brief illness. Trooper Kelly Grant said Podgorski, 49, the Western District commander, died Monday after surgery. The illness was not disclosed. Podgorski led the Western District, which includes Troop A in Southbury, Troop B in Canaan, Troop G in Bridgeport and Troop L in Bantam. [See also: Release of Sandy Hook School Shooting Report Likely Delayed 29 May 2013. State police said Wednesday that the final investigative report on the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown may not be released until the end of September... State Police commanders discussed the new timetable at a meeting in the Litchfield barracks earlier this week. At that meeting, sources said, Maj. William Podgorski said part of the delay is redacting FBI reports to conform to state Freedom of Information laws. Podgorski oversees the Western District Crime Squad, the unit involved in the investigation.]

Bridgegate indictment of Christie cronies 'near-certain,' says published report 19 Jun 2014 The Bridgegate-related indictment of political allies of Gov. Chris Christie on federal corruption charges is a near certainty, with prosecutors launching a second grand jury intent on pressing defendants to testify against the governor, according to a published report quoting unnamed sources. An article posted by Esquire today quotes two anonymous sources it says are familiar with an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Attorney's office in Newark into the September George Washington Bridge lane closures. A broadening criminal investigation stemming from the closures is being led by Christie's successor as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Paul Fishman.

John Doe prosecutors allege Scott Walker at center of extensive 'criminal scheme' 19 Jun 2014 Prosecutors allege Gov. Scott Walker was at the center of an effort to illegally coordinate fundraising among conservative groups to help his campaign and those of Republican state senators fend off recall elections during 2011 and '12, according to documents unsealed Thursday. In the documents, prosecutors lay out what they call an extensive "criminal scheme" to bypass state election laws by Walker, his campaign and two top Republican political operatives - R.J. Johnson and Deborah Jordahl. The governor and his close confidants helped raise money and control spending through 12 conservative groups during the recall elections, according to the prosecutors' filings.

Documents: Hundreds of pages in Wisconsin John Doe probe released 19 Jun 2014 See also: Exhibit C: Prosecutors make case against Walker, others.

White House plans more immigrant detention centers; DHS silent if to be built on military bases 20 Jun 2014 Obama administration officials announced new measures Friday to detain and process an influx of families streaming over the southern U.S. border in recent months, primarily from Central America. "We are surging our resources to increase our capacity to detain," said Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. He would not say whether the new detention facilities would be on military bases, where officials have opened other shelters for immigrant youths in recent weeks.

May 2014 hottest on record globally --March and April also warmest on record - Japan analysis 20 Jun 2014 Preliminary data released separately by NASA and the Japanese Meteorological Agency suggest May 2014 was the warmest May on record. NASA data (which is still to incorporate data from China) indicates that May 2014 had an average global temperature 1.38 degrees Fahrenheit above the long term average.

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Contributions to CLG are not tax deductible.

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