Breaking News and Commentary from
CLG13 Feb 2014
http://www.legitgov.org/
All links are here:http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news
All links are here:http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news
Previous edition: White
House Mulls Killing Another American
CLG surpasses 6,000 'likes' on
Facebook By Lori Price, www.legitgov.org 12 Feb 2014 CLG
News got an early Valentines Day gift on Wednesday when the Citizens for
Legitimate Government page on Facebook surpassed 6,000 'likes.' CLG very
much appreciates the 'love' shown by readers on Facebook! Now, for those of you
on Facebook who haven't clicked 'like' on our page, please join us.
:)
OMG.
US to pump $300mn into Afghanistan to end 'war economy' -
report 09
Feb 2014 Washington will announce on Monday a massive aid package to
Afghanistan, which it hopes will assist the war-torn country get back on its
feet after 12 years of playing host to foreign troops, Reuters has learned. The
US Agency for International Development (USAID aka CIA-front group) will
announce three new development programs worth almost $300 million to wean
Afghanistan off its 'war economy,' which is heavily subsidized today by opium
exports -- a trade that had been
practically squashed while the country was under Taliban
rule. [AND revived by the US
after its invasion/occupation. USociopaths slash food stamps, will not extend
unemployment insurance, won't help Detroit, can't fix a pothole -- and yet,
there's $300 million to give to US mercenaries in Afghanistan to protect the
CIA's poppy fields and opium routes?]
GCHQ 'using online viruses and honey traps to discredit
targets' - Edward Snowden revelations --Documents provide evidence that GCHQ has moved beyond its
role as a surveillance agency and now occupies operational territory more
traditionally associated with its confreres, MI6 and MI5. 09 Feb 2014
Britain's GCHQ has a covert unit which uses dirty tricks from "honey trap"
sexual liaisons to texting anonymous messages to friends and neighbours to
discredit targets from hackers to governments, according to the latest leaks
from whistleblower Edward Snowden... The revelations on Sunday sparked criticism
that GCHQ is adopting tactics used by illegal hackers, such as so-called denial
of service (DoS) attacks to disable chatrooms, which have no clear authority
under British law and may have infringed the rights of other internet users. The
covert GCHQ unit -- the Joint Intelligence Threat Research Group (JTRIG) -- runs
what it terms an "Effects" programme against Britain's enemies under what it
calls the four Ds: "Deny/ Disrupt/ Degrade/ Deceive."
US senator files class-action suit on
NSA 13 Feb 2014 US Republican
senator Rand Paul is filing a "class-action" lawsuit challenging a National
Security Agency's surveillance program. Represented by former Virginia attorney
general Ken Cuccinelli, Paul filed his suit at 11am (0200 AEDT on Thursday) in
the US District Court for the District of Columbia. Paul's lawsuit is the latest
to challenge NSA surveillance, but it's the first to be filed by a member of
congress.
Lights Out for NSA? Maryland Lawmakers Push to Cut Water,
Electricity to Spy Agency Headquarters --NSA nerve center in Fort Meade targeted by bill.
10 Feb 2014 The National Security Agency's headquarters in Ft. Meade, Md., will
go dark if a cohort of Maryland lawmakers has its way. Eight Republicans in the
141-member Maryland House of Delegates introduced legislation Thursday that
would deny the electronic spy agency "material support, participation or
assistance in any form" from the state, its political subdivisions or companies
with state contracts. The bill would deprive NSA facilities water and
electricity carried over public utilities, ban the use of NSA-derived evidence
in state courts and prevent state universities from partnering with the NSA on
research.
Online, live protests target NSA
surveillance 11 Feb 2014 Hundreds of
websites posted messages opposing online government surveillance on Tuesday, as
activists planned live protests and other gatherings in cities all over the
world. Social news giant Reddit, blogging site Tumblr and Mozilla, the makers of
the Firefox browser, were among the most high-profile sites to take part in the
online protest. Much of it targeted surveillance by the National Security Agency
in the United States.
Homeland Security to Purchase
141,000 Rounds of Sniper Ammo 11 Feb
2014 The Department of Homeland Security is buying more bullets with a
solicitation for over 141,00 rounds of sniper ammunition. According to a
solicitation posted on FedB-zOpps, the federal agency is looking to
procure 141,160 rounds of Hornady .308 Winchester 168gr A-MAX TAP ammunition.
Such ammunition is sometimes retailed as "Zombie Max," a marketing gimmick
alluding to its power. The latest purchase further illustrates the
fallacy of the DHS's excuse that it is buying bullets in bulk in order to save
money. The federal agency will pay around $1.20 for each round, when a lower
grain round could be acquired for around a quarter of the
price.
Fifteen Iraqi soldiers killed in pre-dawn
attack 11 Feb 2014 Iraqi security
and morgue officials say militants have attacked an army encampment guarding an
oil pipeline in northern Iraq, killing 15 soldiers overnight. The pre-dawn
attack took place near the town of Hamam al-Alil, situated 330 kilometers (200
miles) north of Baghdad, late on Monday. A medical official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said eight of the soldiers were beheaded while the
others were killed by gunfire.
Israeli arms seized from al-Qaeda-linked militants: Iraqi
Cmdr 10 Feb 2014 A senior Iraqi
commander says weapons seized from al-Qaeda[al-CIAduh]-linked militants in the
Arab country are advanced Israeli-made arms. Fadhel Jamil al-Barwari, who is the
commander of the prominent Golden Battalion, has made the remarks on his
Facebook page, adding that all arms that have been confiscated from the
terrorists since 2006 are Israeli-made. Barwari established the Special
Forces group for countering terrorism in the year 2003. [Well, I guess
now we know why Al-Qaeda never attacks Israel.]
Blast hits US-led military convey in Afghan capital,
Kabul 10 Feb 2014 Casualties are
feared after a powerful bomb blast rocked a US-led military convoy in an
administrative district of the Afghan capital, Kabul. Reports coming out of the
country suggest that the bomb explosion targeted a US-led foreign military group
near Pul-e-Charkhi prison in eastern Kabul. A thick cloud of smoke has been seen
rising over the scene of the explosion.
Pakistani anti-drone activist abducted in
Rawalpindi 11 Feb 2014 A Pakistani
anti-drone activist is missing after being kidnapped from his home in the city
of Rawalpindi. Kareem Khan was seized at his home by 15 to 20 men in the early
hours of February 5 and has not been heard from ever since, his lawyer Shahzad
Akbar said on Monday. Khan's brother and teenage son were killed in a US drone
attack that targeted his home in the tribal area of North Waziristan in December
2009. Despite the Pakistani government's repeated calls on Washington to
end the drone attacks, the US government continues its strikes on the Waziristan
region.
Two NATO contractors killed in attack in eastern
Afghanistan 10 Feb 2014 The US-led
Western military alliance says at least two civilian contractors working for
coalition forces have been killed in a bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan. This
comes after a car bomb explosion targeted a convoy of US-led forces in the
country's troubled east on Monday. NATO has confirmed that two of its civilian
contractors were killed in the deadly explosion.
Judge sets 'trial' date for marathon
bombing --Tsarnaev has
pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges over April 15 bombings 13 Feb
2014 A US federal judge has set a November 'trial' date for Boston Marathon
bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, despite objections from defence lawyers who
say that will not give them enough time to prepare. Judge George O'Toole Jr said
he believed a November 3 trial was realistic and fair. Tsarnaev's lawyers had
asked for a trial date no earlier than September 2015. Prosecutors, who are
seeking the death penalty for [patsy] Tsarnaev, want the trial this
year.
Homeland Security Chair: 'High Degree of Probability' for
Explosion During Olympics [Hmm... How on earth does he *know* this?] 09 Feb
2014 The Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security said Sunday that
there is a "high degree of probability" of an explosion during the Sochi Olympic
games. Speaking on Fox News [sic] Sunday, Rep. Mike McCaul said that an
explosion or bomb of some sort is likely to go off during the Olympics in
Russia, although he suggested it would happen outside the Olympic Village
itself. "There's a high degree of probability that something will detonate,
something will go off," McCaul said.
US media, politicians mobilize against Sochi
Olympics 10 Feb 2014 The Sochi
Olympics opened on Friday amid a propaganda onslaught from the US media. Taking
its cues from the Obama administration and allied powers in Europe, the American
press has sought to sabotage the event and turn it into a humiliation for the
regime of President Vladimir Putin... Recently passed anti-gay laws in Russia
that ban "homosexual propaganda" are being utilized as one of the principal
cudgels against the Putin government. While
the US maintains the closest ties with regimes like Saudi Arabia, where
homosexuality is punishable by flogging and death, Washington and its
allies have whipped up a frenzy in the human rights community around these
issues with regards to Russia. While Russia is hardly a paragon of
democratic rights, the signatories of this letter come from countries that are
carrying out a massive assault on civil liberties. US President Barack Obama
openly declares that he has the right to authorize the assassination of US
citizens without due process, and has done so. His government presides over the
largest spying operation in world history.
Corpora-terrorists strike again: Explosion at NH Ball Bearings Plant Injures
15 11 Feb 2014 An explosion rocked a
small-town ball bearings plant on Monday, shaking walls, shattering windows and
sending at least 15 people to the hospital. Hazardous-materials teams responded
after Monday afternoon's explosion at the New Hampshire Ball Bearings Inc. plant
in Peterborough... Local hospitals were asked to prepare for patients who may
have been exposed to hazardous materials.
North Carolina hospital to 18 patients: You may have been
exposed to incurable disease --Instruments used in surgery didn't get approved
sterilization 10 Feb 2014 Doctors and hospital officials from Novant
Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, are notifying 18
neurosurgery patients that they might have been exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease, a serious and incurable neurological disorder. "Today we are reaching
out to 18 neurosurgery patients who were exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
over the last three weeks at Forsyth Medical Center," said Jeff Lindsay,
president of the center.
New bridgegate subpoena focuses on former Port Authority
official's November testimony 12 Feb
2014 A newly issued subpoena in the ongoing George Washington Bridge
investigation seeks information related to a former Port Authority official's
November testimony before the committee investigating the controversy, an
attorney for one of the subpoenaed groups confirmed Tuesday. The subpoena,
issued yesterday by the joint legislative committee, seeks any drafts of former
Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni's November testimony, any
edits to it, or correspondence with Baroni prior to the appearance, attorney
Mark Sheridan confirmed Tuesday. Sheridan represents Gov. Chris Christie's
reelection campaign, which has been subpoenaed by both the committee and the
U.S. Attorney.
Christie's bridge scandal lawyers seek interview with former
top aide, Fort Lee mayor 11 Feb 2014
Lawyers hired by Gov. Chris Christie’s office to investigate the George
Washington Bridge scandal want to interview a former top aide to the governor
and the mayor of Fort Lee as the legal maneuvering over the controversial lane
closures intensifies. Randy Mastro, a former federal prosecutor leading the
governor's legal team, made a request for an interview in a letter sent Saturday
to an attorney for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich. The firm also sent an interview
request last week to lawyers representing Bridget Anne Kelly, the governor's
former deputy chief of staff and a prominent player in the scandal. And David
Wildstein, the former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official also at
the center of the controversy, was contacted by the firm, his lawyer said
today.
New Jersey traffic jam victims ask Christie to resign, if he
knew 11 Feb 2014 Valerie
Howard-Fadul recalled feeling "excruciating" pain after the anesthesia wore off,
when her usual 45-minute drive home across the Hudson River after a medical eye
treatment stretched into five hours in the now infamous bridge traffic jam
orchestrated by aides of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Howard-Fadul, 55,
of Fort Lee, New Jersey, was one of the motorists ensnared in last September's
epic tie-up. She and others joined political activists on Tuesday to call for
Christie's resignation - if he played a role in the traffic fiasco.
Senate clears debt limit measure for
Obama 13 Feb 2014 Legislation to
raise the federal debt limit and prevent a crippling government default cleared
Congress on Wednesday with an awkward assist from top Senate Republican leaders
who were forced into a politically treacherous vote engineered by tea party
favorite Ted Cruz. The Texas Republican's maneuver forced several GOP
colleagues, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, into a
reluctant vote against a filibuster, helping the measure along. On a day of
legislative drama, the key vote clearing the way for final action was held open
for more than an hour and broke open only after McConnell and top lieutenant
John Cornyn, R-Texas, unexpectedly voted "aye." Several other Republicans then
switched their votes to support the measure, ultimately breaking the filibuster
by a 67-31 margin.
House approves 'clean' debt limit after Republicans drop
demands 11 Feb 2014 The House of
Representatives narrowly approved a one-year extension of federal borrowing
authority on Tuesday after Republicans caved into President Barack Obama's
demands to allow a debt limit increase without any conditions. The 221-201 vote,
carried mainly by Democrats, marked a dramatic shift from the confrontational
fiscal tactics House Republicans have used over the past three years,
culminating in last October's 16-day government shutdown.
Justice Department Sued Over $13 Billion JPMorgan
Pact 10 Jan 2014 With a record $13
billion sticker price, the settlement deal between JPMorgan Chase and the
government captured the attention of Wall Street and Washington late last year.
And yet, according to a lawsuit that a nonprofit group filed against the Justice
Department on Monday, the crucial details of the deal were for the government's
eyes only. The lawsuit filed by Better Markets, a group critical of Wall Street,
challenged the constitutionality of the deal, a landmark settlement stemming
from accusations that JPMorgan overstated the quality of mortgage securities it
sold before the financial crisis.
Republicans Setting Up Fake Websites for Democratic
Candidates 07 Feb 2014 The National
Republican Congressional Committee appears to have set up at least 16 websites
meant to appear like the official websites of Democratic candidates.
TIME wrote that "the tactic smacks of 'spoofing' scams, whereby spammers
masquerade under fake phone numbers or email addresses to win trust." Paul S.
Ryan of the Campaign Legal Center even said that the websites may violate an FEC
regulation prohibiting political parties from using a candidate's name in
special projects.
In Arkansas, 'Private
Option' Medicaid Plan Could Be Derailed 10 Feb 2014 Last year, the Republicans who control this state's
Legislature devised a politically palatable way to expand Medicaid under
President Obama's health care law. They won permission to use federal expansion
funds to buy private insurance for as many as 250,000 poor people instead of
adding them to traditional Medicaid. But just as the idea is catching fire in
other states with Republican or divided leadership -- Iowa has adopted a version
of the plan, and New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Utah and other states are
exploring similar avenues -- Arkansas may abruptly reverse course, potentially
leaving the 83,000 people who have signed up so far without insurance as soon as
July 1.
Missouri's Michael Sam says he's gay in advance of 2014 NFL
Draft 09 Feb 2014 Former Missouri
defensive lineman Michael Sam, the 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, is set
to enter the 2014 NFL Draft under unique circumstances. Sam will enter the NFL
as the league's first openly gay player. Sam was interviewed Sunday by the New York Times and ESPN. He told the
media entities he came out of the closet and told his teammates "I'm gay"
earlier during the 2013 season. This was the first time Sam has spoken publicly
about his sexual orientation, and he's about to put the NFL on a different
axis.
Nutjob Gustavo Pronotto, Mendoza zoo
continue to torture polar bear: Arturo, 'a polar bear in the Argentine desert,' stays in his
zoo 09 Feb 2014 The future of Arturo
the polar bear, one of the main attractions at the zoo in the Argentine province
of Mendoza, is no longer a mystery. A 'medical board' decided that, because of
his advanced age and the fragile state of his health, it is not advisable to
move him anywhere. Environmentalists did not agree. "The evaluation they did was
visual, without touching him, observing him from a distance," complained Gabriel
Flores, an activist of the Ecologists United movement, which for more than a
year had denounced Arturo's living conditions. "It was a halfway fake
evaluation that doesn't convince us at all," he said. Pictures of Arturo in the scorching 40 C (104 F)
heat of the arid city of Mendoza during the Southern Hemisphere summer shocked
Argentine society and sparked a debate about sending the bear to
an ecological reserve in Canada or some other polar bear-friendly climate.
"This is a polar bear in the middle of the desert," Flores
said. [See also: Activists struggle to get elderly polar bear out of
the Argentina heat 20 Dec 2013.]
Activists struggle to get elderly polar bear out of the
Argentina heat --'There is no way for him to escape the heat, which can
rise to more than 40 degrees Celsius in Mendoza.' 20 Dec 2013
Arturo is a 28-year-old polar bear who lives in a zoo in Mendoza, Argentina.
Activists have been campaigning to get him out of Mendoza for months, saying the
scorching hot weather is taking a toll on him. A zoo in Canada has even offered
to adopt him, but local authorities have swayed back and forth on whether to
refuse to let him go. Arturo has spent two decades in Mendoza's zoo, where he is
the only polar bear... Maria Fernanda Arentsen is originally from Mendoza,
Argentina. She works as a university professor in Winnipeg, Canada. "As you can
see in the videos, Arturo lives in a concrete enclosure with only a shallow
pool. There is no way for him to escape the heat, which can rise to more than 40
degrees Celsius during the summer months in Mendoza. [The polar bear in Buenos
Aires, who was 16 years old, died on a day with a high of 36.7 degrees]. He has
been filmed rocking back and forth in a way that animal experts say
signals
distress. It breaks my heart to see
this."
Heavy ice and snow
threaten travel again in U.S. South
12 Feb 2014 Another major winter storm unfurled across a wide swath of the U.S.
South on Tuesday, and forecasters warned that potentially high accumulations of
ice could cripple road travel and result in broad power outages in the coming
days. The storm could be "a catastrophic event" of "historical proportions," the
National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, Georgia, said of the latest
blast of wintry weather to hit the region in recent weeks. Conditions were
expected to worsen overnight, with up to an inch (2.5 cm) of ice predicted in
parts of South Carolina and Georgia.
Sinkhole swallows eight prized
Corvettes 12 Feb 2014 A gaping
sinkhole collapsed part of the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky on
Wednesday, damaging eight prized cars that plunged in a heap while the
attraction geared to the classic American sports car was closed to visitors.
"They're all just kind of nose down in the bottom of the hole," said Western
Kentucky University engineering professor Matt Dettman, part of a team brought
in to assess the damage and the stability of the surrounding area. Six of the
cars were owned by the museum and two were on loan from General Motors, said
museum spokesperson Katie Frassinelli.
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