Citizens for Legitimate Government: 24 June 2013

Hastings sent email stating 'need to go off the radar' hours before death - Report --Email was sent just before 1 p.m. on Monday, 15 hours before the deadly crash 21 Jun 2013 The crash that killed journalist Michael Hastings was ruled an accident by police, but conspiracy theories continued to circulate on Friday. Hastings, 33, was killed in a fiery solo-vehicle crash in Hancock Park early Tuesday morning. Staff Sgt. Joseph Biggs told KTLA that he received an email from Hastings on Monday. Biggs had known Hastings since 2008, when the journalist was embedded in his unit in Afghanistan. "On Monday morning, I woke up and I got an email, and it's very panicked," Biggs said. He was blind-copied on the email, which was sent to Hastings's colleagues. In part, it said that the feds were interviewing his close friends and associates, and that he was onto a big story and needed to get off the radar.

U.S. revokes NSA leaker Snowden's passport 23 Jun 2013 The former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed a highly classified surveillance program has had his U.S. passport revoked, an official said Sunday. Edward Snowden's passport was annulled before he left Hong Kong for Russia and while that could complicate his travel plans, the lack of a passport alone could not thwart his plans, the U.S. official said. If a senior official in another country or with an airline orders it, a country could overlook the withdrawn passport, the official said.

Wikileaks: 'History will judge Snowden as a hero' 23 Jun 2013 Edward Snowden, the former US intelligence contractor wanted by Washington on espionage charges, is spending the night at an airport in Moscow after arriving from Hong Kong. Ecuador's foreign minister has confirmed Mr Snowden's request for asylum. Wikileaks has made it clear that it has been helping Mr Snowden and its spokesman, Kristinn Hrafnsson, told the BBC he believed the fugitive would eventually be recognised as a hero.

WikiLeaks: Snowden going to Ecuador to seek asylum 23 Jun 2013 Admitted leaker Edward Snowden took flight Sunday in evasion of U.S. authorities, seeking asylum in Ecuador and leaving the Obama administration scrambling to determine its next step in what became a game of diplomatic cat-and-mouse. The former National Security Agency contractor and CIA technician fled Hong Kong and arrived at the Moscow airport, where he planned to spend the night before boarding an Aeroflot flight to Cuba. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government received an asylum request from Snowden, and the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said it would help him.

Edward Snowden, NSA leaker, reportedly lands in Moscow 23 Jun 2013 An Aeroflot flight from Hong Kong carrying Edward Snowden, the former contractor who leaked top-secret documents about U.S. surveillance programs, landed at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Russia on Sunday. Snowden left Hong Kong "on his own accord for a third country," the government in Hong Kong said Sunday afternoon. Snowden's final destination was unclear. Russian news agency Interfax and Radio Ekho Moskvy reported that Snowden was booked on a flight to Cuba and then from Havana to Caracas, Venezuela. The next Aeroflot flight to Havana leaves Monday afternoon. Ecuador and Iceland have also been mentioned as possibilities.

NBC's Gregory: Why shouldn't Greenwald be charged? 23 Jun 2013 NBC "Meet the Press" host David Gregory got a rise out of Glenn Greenwald on Sunday by asking the Guardian reporter why he shouldn't be charged with a crime for having "aided and abetted" former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden. Greenwald replied on the show Sunday that it was "pretty extraordinary that anybody who would call themselves a journalist would publicly muse about whether or not other journalists should be charged with felonies." [Gregory's no journalist, so the point *is moot.*]

Edward Snowden extradition attempts 'could take years' --Hong Kong legal experts say US could face lengthy diplomatic and legal process to try NSA whistleblower in American court 22 Jun 2013 Any attempt by the US to extradite the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden from Hong Kong for espionage could take years and be blocked by China, legal experts have said. The warning comes after it emerged on Friday that the US has charged Snowden with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence to an unauthorised person. The latter two charges are part of the US Espionage Act. Legislators in Hong Kong responded by calling for mainland China to intervene in the case.

US seeks extradition of NSA leaker Snowden: official 22 Jun 2013 The United States has contacted authorities in Hong Kong to seek the extradition of alleged National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden in accordance with the U.S.-Hong Kong Agreement for the Surrender of Fugitive Offenders, an administration official said on Saturday. A senior State Department official confirmed statements that NSA director Tom Donilon made Saturday to CBS News that the request was made to Hong Kong authorities based on the criminal complaint filed against Snowden. Charges against Snowden were filed June 14 under seal in federal court in Alexandria, Va. -- and only disclosed Friday.

WikiLeaks plane 'ready' to bring Snowden to Iceland 21 Jun 2013 A chartered private jet is ready to bring US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden to Iceland from Hong Kong, a businessman connected to whistleblowing website WikiLeaks said late on Thursday. "Everything is ready on our side and the plane could take off tomorrow," Icelandic businessman Olafur Sigurvinsson, head of WikiLeaks partner firm DataCell, told Channel2 television. "We have really done all we can do. We have a plane and all the logistics in place. Now we are only awaiting a response from the [Icelandic] government," added the boss of Datacell, which handles donations to WikiLeaks.

Pelosi booed for saying NSA leaker Snowden violated the law 22 Jun 2013 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was booed onstage Saturday when she said former government contractor Edward Snowden broke the law by leaking classified documents on National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs. Speaking at the NetRoots Nation conference in San Jose, Calif., Pelosi told the audience to reject comparisons between President Barack Obama and his predecessor, President [sic] George W. Bush, on their oversight of surveillance programs... Pelosi received the loudest boos and heckles from the crowd when she said Snowden had run afoul of the law by leaking documents to the media on a pair of secret NSA surveillance programs.

Edward Snowden charged with 3 felonies 21 Jun 2013 Federal prosecutors secretly charged former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden last week with three felonies in connection with recent leaks of classified information about secret U.S. surveillance programs, according to a court complaint unsealed Friday. Snowden was charged with conveying classified information to an unauthorized party, disclosing communications intelligence information, and theft of government property. The charges, which can carry a penalty of up to ten years in prison on each count, were filed in federal court in Alexandria, Va., last Friday.

GCHQ Spies 'Tap Fibre Optic Cables For Data' 22 Jun 2013 British spies have secretly accessed fibre-optic cables carrying huge numbers of emails, Facebook messages and other communications, according to The Guardian. Documents given to the newspaper by US whistleblower Edward Snowden suggest eavesdropping agency GCHQ can analyse data from the network of cables that carry global phone calls and internet traffic under an operation codenamed Tempora. The newspaper said data had been shared with the organisation's US counterpart, the National Security Agency.

In WikiLeaks Probe, Feds Used a Secret Search Warrant to Get Volunteer's Gmail 21 Jun 2013 The Justice [sic] Department used a secret search warrant to obtain the entire contents of a Gmail account used by a former WikiLeaks volunteer in Iceland, according to court records released to the volunteer this week. The search warrant was issued under seal on October 14, 2011, by the Alexandria, Virginia federal judge overseeing the WikiLeaks grand jury investigation there. The warrant ordered Google to turn over "the contents of all e-mails associated with the account, including stored or preserved copies of e-mails sent to and from the account, draft e-mails, deleted e-mails [...] the source and destination addresses associated with each e-mail, the date and time at which each e-mail was sent, and the size and length of each e-mail." The warrant also ordered Google not to disclose the search to anyone. The target of the search was Herbert Snorrason, an Icelandic activist who helped manage WikiLeaks' secure chat room in 2010.
400 US troops about to be deployed to Egypt 22 Jun 2013 The spokesman of the Egyptian armed forces clarified Saturday circulating news of 400 US troops about to be deployed to Egypt. "The 400 US soldiers coming to Egypt as mentioned in the media are part of the periodical renewal routine for the US faction of the 13-state multinational force deployed in Sinai since the peace treaty. They are not armed with military operations gear," spokesman of the Egyptian military Ahmed Ali said Saturday. A number of US news websites had reported in the past two days that a group of US soldiers will be deployed to Egypt in the near future for a nine-month peacekeeping mission aimed at "curbing riots...if protests and riots reach the point of threatening Israel's security."
'London 11' vow to increase arms to Syrian 'rebels' 22 Jun 2013 Foreign ministers from 11 countries meeting here cited the presence of foreign fighters in the country and the alleged use of chemical weapons by Damascus in agreeing Saturday to increase arms shipments to the rebels [aka cannibals, terrorists, and rapists]. In a statement, the ministers representing the "London 11," an offshoot of the "Friends of Syria," said they would "provide urgently all the necessary materiel and equipment to the opposition on the ground..." The weapons are to be funneled through the opposition Free Syrian Army's Supreme Military Council (SMC).

Senators introduce bill to block US arming Syria militants 21 Jun 2013 Four bipartisan US senators have introduced a bill aimed at prohibiting the administration of President Barack Obama from providing military assistance to militants in Syria. The legislation was introduced on June 20 by Democrats Tom Udall and Chris Murphy and Republicans Mike Lee and Rand Paul in an effort to bar the US Department of Defense and spy agencies from feeding anti-Syria Takfiri militants. On June 14, Obama ordered his administration to provide the militants with weapons, which include assault rifles, shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles.

Syrian rebels pledge loyalty to al-Qaeda 14 Jun 2013 A Syrian rebel group's April pledge of allegiance to al-Qaeda's replacement for Osama bin Laden suggests that the terrorist group's influence is not waning and that it may take a greater role in the Western-backed fight to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad. The pledge of allegiance by Syrian Jabhat al Nusra Front chief Abou Mohamad al-Joulani to al-Qaeda leader Sheik Ayman al-Zawahri was coupled with an announcement by the al-Qaeda affiliate in Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq, that it would work with al Nusra as well. Lebanese Sheik Omar Bakri, a Salafist who says states must be governed by Muslim religious law, says al-Qaeda has assisted al Nusra for some time.

US now has 900 troops in Jordan, PM says 22 Jun 2013 Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour says the United States now has about 900 troops in the country. On Friday, the United States said it had left about 700 troops in Jordan after the completion of a multinational military exercise. Addressing a press conference in Amman on Saturday, the Jordanian prime minister disclosed the numbers of US troops that arrived in the country in recent weeks for military exercises and other deployments. Ensour said 200 US servicepersons are experts training people to deal with a [CIA-launched] chemical attack, and 700 troops are manning Patriot missiles and F-16 fighter jets.

CIA training Syria militants in Jordan, Turkey: Report 21 Jun 2013 CIA operatives have been secretly providing Syrian militants with training on the use of anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons for months, a report says. Since the opening of a new US base in the desert southwest of Jordan in November 2012, CIA operatives and US special operations troops have covertly trained the militants in groups of 20 to 45 at a time in two-week courses, The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday. The militants receive training with Russian-designed 14.5-millimeter anti-tank rifles, anti-tank missiles, and 23-millimeter anti-aircraft weapons, according to a militant commander in the Syrian province of Dara'a.

Australian Solider Killed in Afghanistan Gunfight 23 Jun 2013 An Australian special forces soldier has been killed and two of his fellow troops were wounded in a gun battle with insurgents in southern Afghanistan. The soldier, whose name had not been released at the request of his family, was killed on Saturday on his fifth tour of Afghanistan. He was decorated member of the Sydney-based 2nd Commando Regiment who had also served in Iraq and East Timor, Australian Defense Force Chief Lt. Gen. David Hurley said on Sunday.

US steps up efforts to break Guantánamo hunger strike 22 Jun 2013 Increasingly brutal tactics are being used in an attempt to break the hunger strike by detainees at Guantánamo Bay, according to fresh testimony from the last British resident still held in the camp. Shaker Aamer claims that the US authorities are systematically making the regime more hardline to try to defuse the strike, which now involves almost two-thirds of the detainees. Techniques include making cells "freezing cold" to accentuate the discomfort of those on hunger strike and the introduction of "metal-tipped" feeding tubes, which Aamer said were forced into inmates' stomachs twice a day and caused detainees to vomit over themselves. The 46-year-old from London tells of one detainee who was admitted to hospital 10 days ago after a nurse had pushed the tube into his lungs rather than his stomach, causing him later to cough up blood.

Suspicious Item Found at Walsall Mosque 23 Jun 2013 (UK) Homes near to a mosque in Walsall are being evacuated following the discovery of a suspicious item last night, police say. Army bomb disposal experts are currently at the scene and have this morning ordered the evacuation of around 39 homes in the immediate vicinity of the mosque. Police were called to the Rutter Street address at around 10.45pm last night following the discovery in the grounds of the building.

Protester killed, dozens injured as Brazil police face off with a million in 100 cities 21 Jun 2013 An 18-year-old protester has been killed and dozens injured as massive protests continue in Brazil's cities. Over a million people have flooded the streets of the country on Thursday. Mass protests continued throughout Brazil Thursday as hundreds of thousands assembled in the main cities of Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro with no sign of subsiding even as governments reversed course on planned public transit fare hikes.

Anti-government protests in 80 cities across Brazil 22 Jun 2013 More than a million Brazilians poured into the streets of at least 80 cities in the largest anti-government demonstrations yet. Violent clashes broke out in several cities as people demanding improved public services and an end to corruption faced tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets. At least one protester was killed in Sao Paulo state after a car rammed into a crowd of demonstrators, the driver apparently angered about being unable to drive along a street.

Reward for information on turtle attack increases to $8,200 19 Jun 2013 The reward for information leading to arrest of the individual [terrorist] responsible for the beating death of a snapping turtle has been increased to $8,200. The turtle, a female searching for a safe spot to lay her eggs, appeared to have been beaten with a golf club between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. Monday, June 10, at the Delbrook Golf Course in Delavan. Jen Niemeyer, Wisconsin DNR conservation warden supervisor, said investigators have interviewed about 36 people who were on the grounds at the time of the offense. That number includes 18 golfers who were on their own at the time.

Reward in case of turtle beaten to death tops $8,000 19 Jun 2013 The reward for information leading to the arrest of the person [sic] accused of beating a mother snapping turtle to death has ballooned to more than $8,000, the Janesville Gazette reported on Wednesday. The paper said that PETA put up $5,000, the Global Conservation Group $3,000 and the Rock County Humane Society $200. The turtle was beaten, most likely with a golf club, at the Delbrook Golf Course in Delavan on June 10, while she was looking for a spot to lay her eggs in a sand trap.

Feds: Nuclear waste may be leaking into soil from Hanford site 22 Jun 2013 An underground tank holding some of the worst radioactive waste at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site might be leaking into the soil. The U.S. Energy Department said workers at Washington state's Hanford Nuclear Reservation detected higher radioactivity levels under tank AY-102 during a routine inspection Thursday. Spokeswoman Lori Gamache said the department has notified Washington officials and is investigating the leak further. An engineering analysis team will conduct additional sampling and video inspection to determine the source of the contamination, she said.

Scientists warn against complacency on deadly H7N9 bird flu 23 Jun 2013 A new and deadly strain of bird flu that emerged in China in February but seems to have petered out in recent months could reappear later this year when the warm season comes to an end - and could spread internationally, scientists said on Monday. A study by researchers in China and Hong Kong found only one human case of the H7N9 bird flu strain has been identified since early May. "If H7N9 follows a similar pattern to H5N1, the epidemic could reappear in the autumn," researchers wrote in a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Canada floods: Troops deployed to help with evacuation of 100,000 people 22 Jun 2013 Army troops have been deployed in Calgary and across Canada's Alberta province as the government declares a state of emergency ordering 100,000 residents to evacuate. Authorities say 3 bodies have been found. More people are presumed dead. Some 1200 troops were ordered to help with the emergency situation. Two civilian aircraft, a helicopter and a fixed wing airplane are being used for air support, according to local news stations.

Monsanto points to sabotage at GMO-contaminated wheat field 22 Jun 2013 Biotech giant Monsanto says that its unapproved experimental wheat ended up growing at an Oregon field through what most likely was an isolated act of sabotage. "What happened in this field...is suspicious," said Monsanto Chief Technology Officer Robb Fraley on Friday, reporting on the ongoing investigation into the scandal. In late May, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the discovery of bioengineered wheat, which had been made resistant to Roundup, a Monsanto-sold pesticide. The plant was developed by Monsanto between 1998 and 2005, but was never approved and made into a commercial product.

Giant panda twins born in SW China 23 Jun 2013 A female giant panda has successfully given birth to panda twins in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the first pair ever born globally this year, local conservation workers said Sunday. A panda named Haizi gave birth to the first cub at 4:54 p.m. Saturday and the second one ten minutes later, according to workers at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong Nature Reserve. The mother has yet to release the first cub from her embrace, but staff said it should be a healthy cub, given its large size and the volume of the sounds it has been making.

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