Citizens for Legitimate Government--20 Jun 2011

Turkey allows NATO to use its airbase for ground operations into Syria --Turkey to take in NATO ground forces 19 Jun 2011 Turkey has agreed that NATO can turn its airbase in Turkey into a base for ground operations into Syria. The country will become the main base in the area for the US-led military alliance's ground forces. NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said the alliance will transfer the bulk of its ground forces from a military base in the city of Heidelberg in southwestern Germany. Other troops will arrive from Spain to be placed at the Izmir Air Station in western Turkey, which will now become the centre for ground troops. [Gee, if I was George W. Bush, I'd be the most frustrated person (or whatever) on earth! Barack Obama has sixteen pots boiling on the stove -- illegal invasions/occupations/killer drone strikes/CIA coups all over the world -- and he's generated virtually *no* vitriol/dissent from liberals. MSNBC worships the guy! And, Obama's won the Nobel Peace Prize, to boot! George W. Bush was reviled/protested for doing half of what Barack Obama has done - and, save CLG, rarely does anyone mention that fact. --Lori Price]

Missing Iraq cash 'as high as $18bn' --The Bush regime flew in a total of $20bn in cash into the country in 2004. Iraq's parliament speaker tells Al Jazeera unaccounted reconstruction money is three times the reported $6.6bn. 19 Jun 2011 Osama al-Nujaifi, the Iraqi parliament speaker, has told Al Jazeera that the amount of Iraqi money unaccounted for by the US is $18.7bn - three times more than the reported $6.6bn. Just before departing for a visit to the US, al-Nujaifi said that he has received a report this week based on information from US and Iraqi auditors that the amount of money withdrawn from a fund from Iraqi oil proceeds, but unaccounted for, is much more than the $6.6bn reported missing last week. [$20 billion in cash, Bush the a**wipe gave to his corpora-terrorist cronies. Oh, but we can't get a road built here in the US or get the public option, because Bush and Obomba, his lapdog successor, want to continue these illegal wars and occupations for oil, gas and opium? It's time, long past time, to *Seize DC.*]

Mission accomplished: Shell Ready to Start $12.5 Billion Project to Conserve Iraq's Natural Gas 19 Jun 2011 Royal Dutch Shell Plc and partner Mitsubishi Corp. are preparing to begin a delayed $12.5 billion natural-gas project in Iraq, said Hans Nijkamp, vice president and country chairman. "Shell and Mitsubishi are now ready for execution of the project," he said in an interview published on the website of Energy Exchange, organizer of an Iraqi energy conference to be held in Istanbul in September. "We are working with our Iraq partners to reach final agreements as soon as possible." [The Iraqi people need to *rise up* and *resist* sHell, and the other US corpora-terrorists.]

Iraqi protesters take to streets over living conditions 19 Jun 2011 Iraqi protesters were on the streets over the weekend to protest poor living conditions. Many of the demonstrators, from a group called the Democratic Trend, were mainly in Basra, where they demanded that "incompetent" officials should go if they could not improve employment and curb corruption. The demonstration came as a 100 day deadline proclaimed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expired.

US-funded Afghan militias 'beat, rob and kill with impunity' 19 Jun 2011 American-funded Afghan militias raised to protect villages from the Taliban have begun to prey on residents and in some cases are beating, robbing and even killing with impunity it is claimed. Residents and officials warn that the rush to recruit local defence forces around Kandahar following the arrival of last year's surge of American troops had given rise to poorly-controlled armed gangs. They listed armed robberies, thefts and assaults by the militias, saying the groups had become the main worry of many residents in the province's rural districts.

Eight troops die in a day in Afghanistan: military 19 Jun 2011 Eight foreign soldiers died in one day in Afghanistan, officials said Sunday, including four in a single incident believed to have been a vehicle accident. That incident, in a region containing many of Afghanistan's bloodiest battlegrounds, came on a day when ISAF said four other foreign soldiers also died in separate insurgent attacks -- three in the south and one in the east.

4 US-led soldiers die in Afghanistan 19 Jun 2011 International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says four US-led soldiers have lost their lives in war-ravaged Afghanistan. "Four International Security Assistance Force service members died as a result of non-battle related injuries in southern Afghanistan yesterday (Saturday)," ISAF said in a Sunday statement. According to the statement, the troops were killed in a vehicle accident that was not connected to any fighting or militant activity, AFP reported.

CIA will not be allowed to operate in country: Rehman 19 Jun 2011 Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has made it clear that no foreign agency, including United States Central Intelligence Agency, would be allowed to operate in the country, adding that the Supreme Court's verdict on Saleem Shahzad and Sarfraz Shah would be implemented. While talking to media men outside the Parliament house, the minister said, drug and land mafias are responsible for unrest in Karachi. Those involved in Karachi unrest will be taken to task.

Guardian journalist badly beaten for the second time in Pakistan --Waqar Kiani assaulted by men in police uniforms five days after he publishes story about torture by intelligence agents 19 Jun 2011 Five days after he published an account of abduction and torture by suspected Pakistani intelligence agents, a journalist working for the Guardian has been badly beaten by uniformed men [Blackwater?] who said they wished to "make an example" of him. The assault revived concerns about media freedom in Pakistan, one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists. Three weeks ago, another reporter, Saleem Shahzad, was beaten to death after disappearing from the capital.

Legal timeframe expires for US in Libya 19 Jun 2011 The Obama administration has defended the legality of US military engagement in Libya. With Sunday marking 90 days since President Barack Obama notified Congress about American involvement in military action in Libya, the window for securing further congressional approval for the operation has expired. Under a law enacted in 1973, US presidents have 60 days to secure congressional authorisation for major foreign military engagements.

NATO admits to civilian deaths in Tripoli air strike 19 Jun 2011 NATO admitted it carried out an air strike that killed civilians in Tripoli on Sunday. Early on Sunday, Libyan officials took reporters to a residential area in Tripoli's Souq al-Juma district where the reporters saw several bodies being pulled out of the rubble of a destroyed building. Later, in a hospital, they were shown the bodies of two children and three adults who, officials said, were among those killed in the strike.

NATO hits revolutionaries in east Libya 18 Jun 2011 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has issued an apology over an air strike on the eastern Libyan city of Brega that struck a column of Libya opposition forces. "NATO can now confirm that the vehicles hit were part of an opposition patrol," AFP cited a statement released by the military contingent on Saturday. Scores of people lost their lives on June 16 as NATO fighter jets struck opposition forces in Brega.

Bahrain stages political trials for journalists, others 19 Jun 2011 Days after the U.S. designated Bahrain a human rights abuser, the small Gulf kingdom Sunday pushed on with six trials of political opponents and hauled in the wife of a jailed former member of parliament for hours of questioning. Five of the trials were staged before a special military tribunal [oh, like Guantánamo], which has handed out death sentences after rushed secret proceedings. The island's high court was the venue for the sixth, a highly controversial case in which four former editors were charged with fabricating reports in Al Wasat, at the time, Bahrain's sole independent newspaper.

Bahraini leadership faces new claims that torture took place in hospital --Group says suspected protesters - and doctors and nurses who treated them - have been systematically abused 20 Jun 2011 The government of Bahrain faces fresh allegations that it systematically tortured people it suspected of taking part in demonstrations against its autocratic rulers earlier this year, and of deliberately undermining the country's health system as 20 doctors go back on trial today for their supposed role in the protests... The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) testimony is the first to document the existence of what was effectively a torture chamber maintained by Bahraini forces within the hospital. And it provides fresh evidence that retribution was not limited to the alleged ringleaders of the protests.

Israel reveals it has returned dozens of kilograms of nuclear waste to U.S. --Israel's Nuclear Energy Commission head tells IAEA commission that Sorek reactor's nuclear waste was returned to U.S. as part of agreement 20 Jun 2011 Israel has returned nuclear waste from its Sorek nuclear reactor to the U.S., the head of Israel's Nuclear Energy Commission Dr Shaul Horev revealed on Monday. Speaking at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ministerial conference on nuclear safety in Vienna, Horev did not specify the exact amount of waste that had been returned, but according to estimates, Israel has sent back at least dozens of kilograms, probably more, of 93% enriched uranium, which was used to power the Sorek reactor.

Israel navy chief demands flotilla cancellation 20 Jun 2011 Israel's navy chief called Sunday for international powers to halt the progress of the Freedom Flotilla II, a sea convoy of at least 10 ships setting sail for the Gaza Port. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz confirmed that the navy was moving forward with plans to block the ships, which are supported by peace and activist groups from 20 nations. Israel's Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom called "upon the relevant actors to use their influence so that this provocative flotilla will not come to be."

Ex-Spy Alleges Bush White House Sought to Discredit Critic --Ex-spy: Supervisor at National Intelligence Council told him in 2005 W.House officials wanted 'to get' Professor Cole 16 Jun 2011 A former senior C.I.A. official says that officials in the Bush White House sought damaging personal information on a prominent American critic of the Iraq war in order to discredit him. Glenn L. Carle, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who was a top counterterrorism official during the administration of President [sic] George W. Bush, said the White House at least twice asked intelligence officials to gather sensitive information on Juan Cole, a University of Michigan professor who writes an influential blog that criticized the war.

Helicopters intercept aircraft near US capital 18 Jun 2011 Coast Guard helicopters intercepted a small aircraft that entered restricted air space near the US capital on Saturday, military officials said. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said it ordered the action after the "small general aviation aircraft" approached the capital region without authorization at about 11:50 am (1550 GMT). "Upon being intercepted, the civilian aircraft was diverted to Annapolis (in Maryland) where the pilot was to meet with local law enforcement," NORAD said in a statement.

Bomb Threat on US Airways Flight to Washington From Dayton Spurs FBI Probe 19 Jun 2011 A US Airways Group Inc. (LCC) commuter jet was sequestered after landing near Washington because of a bomb threat, U.S. authorities said. No explosives were found. Flight 2596 from Dayton, Ohio, landed in a remote section of Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, this afternoon, the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation checked the plane and interviewed the 44 passengers... The person made the threat at a ticket counter in Dayton after the flight had departed for Washington. The person is in custody and under investigation, the FBI said.

The Architecture of Intimidation, Pt. 1: Detained at O'Hare By Kevin Barrett 19 Jun 2011 It seems I am back on the slow-fly list. Returning on Friday from my speaking tour of Belgium and Germany, I was detained by the US Immigration and Naturalization* (sic) Service for roughly two hours. My colleague Dr. Suleyman Kurter and I had our passports confiscated as we attempted to clear Customs at the O'Hare Airport checkpoint. We were forced to remain seated, under observation, without the right to make a phone call or even to use any electronic devices such as telephone or laptop. So we were unable to notify the person who was picking us up that we had been detained. When we asked our captors why we were being held, they told us that they didn't know.

Report: CIA site hacked, defaced 18 Jun 2011 Less than a week after it was attacked, the US Central Intelligence Agency's website was again attacked, and defaced this time by an Indian hacker who gained access to it. The hacker, "lionaneesh," claimed to gain access to the CIA site by exploiting an XSS vulnerability - and even taunted the US agency after the hack. "CIA is not so intelligent," the hacker said in their Twitter account, which listed lionaneesh's name as Aneesh Dogra.

Flood Alert for Cooper Nuclear Station as No. Missouri Levees Overtop --Levees in northern Missouri breached, overtopped 19 Jun 2011 Several levees in northern Missouri were failing Sunday to hold back the surge of water being released from upstream dams... A hole in the side of a Holt County levee continued to grow Sunday, deluging the state park and recreational area of Big Lake. Meanwhile, the Nebraska Public Power District issued a flooding alert Sunday for its Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville, Neb., as the Missouri River continues to rise. [Looks like the Casey Anthony trial saves Wall Street once again, as there's a *complete media blackout* on the US imperiled nukes! CLG will cover the nuclear disasters, though.]

OPPD Dispels Nuclear Meltdown Rumors In Ft. Calhoun --Officials: Fukushima Event Will Not Happen In Ft. Calhoun 18 Jun 2011 Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) toured the flooded Missouri River this week and saw the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant, seemingly inundated by water. The same image that the governor saw reached the Internet and had led to a wave of rumors. Officials said on Friday that the plant is on the lowest emergency status, but they are prepared if it rises another 10 feet. Officials said they also want to dispel the rumors going around the Internet about a possible nuclear meltdown.

Fukushima workers had to bring their own protective gear: Report 19 Jun 2011 A new report says Japan's tsunami-ravaged nuclear plant was so unprepared for the disaster that workers had to bring protective gear and an emergency manual from distant buildings and borrow equipment from a contractor. The report, released Saturday by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., is based on interviews of workers and plant data. It portrays chaos amid the desperate and ultimately unsuccessful battle to protect the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant from meltdown, and shows that workers struggled with unfamiliar equipment and fear of radiation exposure.

Two million Fukushima residents to undergo radiation health checks 20 Jun 2011 More than two million residents living in the region surrounding Japan's damaged nuclear power plant will undergo longterm health checks starting from this month. The health of residents in Fukushima prefecture in northeast Japan will be monitored over the next 30 years. The health checks will start at the end of the month, focusing firstly on 28,000 residents in the three communities currently nearest to the power plant - Iitake village, Kawamata and Namie - before expanding across the region.

Court Rejects Climate Suit Against Utilities --The Obama administration joined the power industry in urging rejection of the suit. 20 Jun 2011 States can't invoke federal law to force utilities to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, shutting off one avenue for groups that advocate bolder steps against climate change. The unanimous ruling is a victory for five companies -- American Electric Power Co., Duke Energy Corp., Xcel Energy Inc., Southern Co. and the government-owned Tennessee Valley Authority -- that had been sued by six U.S. states, including California, and the city of New York.

BP Wins a Big One in Oil Spill Litigation 17 Jun 2011 Ruling in favor of Transocean and BP, a federal judge on Thursday dismissed third-party environmental claims in a giant pleading bundle in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill litigation, saying the fact that the oil flow has stopped makes those lawsuits irrelevant. "The injunction at this stage would be useless, as not only is there no ongoing release from the well, but there is also no viable offshore facility from which any release could possibly occur," U.S. District 'Judge' Carl Barbier wrote.

John McCain accused of 'fanning the flames of intolerance' after he blames Arizona wildfires on illegal immigrants --Senator McCain [McInsane] suggests fires may have been started to send signals 20 Jun 2011 Republican senator John McCain has accused illegal immigrants of starting wildfires raging across Arizona, prompting a furious response from Latino civil rights groups. He spoke as thousands more Arizona residents were evacuated from the paths of the biggest wildfires ever in the state's history. The fires are under investigation and no suspects have been named... Mr McCain said: 'There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally.'

Wallow Fire: Authorities call for evacuation of Luna, NM 18 Jun 2011 Authorities are evacuating the small New Mexico town of Luna as a precaution as winds continue to push a wildfire in northeastern Arizona. About 200 people live in Luna. A shelter for evacuees was being set up Saturday afternoon at a high school in Reserve, N.M. The U.S. Forest Service says the latest acreage numbers show the Wallow fire has burned 500,409 acres or 773 square miles, but is 38 percent contained.

Firefighters battle two blazes in Arizona 18 Jun 2011 As firefighters in eastern Arizona gain ground against the largest wildfire in state history, a smaller blaze near the Mexican border is bearing down on a city of 70,000 people and winds are expected to increase on Sunday. The Monument Fire, near the Army's Ft. Huachuca about 8 miles south of Sierra Vista, has destroyed 47 homes and burned more than 20,000 acres.

Supreme Court Blocks Sex Discrimination Class-Action Suit Against Wal-Mart --Court divided 5-to-4 along ideological lines --Decision to 'almost certainly affect all sorts of other class-action suits, including ones asserting antitrust, securities and product liability violations' 20 Jun 2011 The Supreme Court on Monday threw out the largest employment discrimination case in the nation's history. The suit, against Wal-Mart Stores, had sought to consolidate the claims of as many as 1.5 million women on the theory that the company had discriminated against them in pay and promotion decisions. The lawsuit sought back pay that could have amounted to billions of dollars... The court did not decide whether Wal-Mart had in fact discriminated against the women, only that they could not proceed as a class.

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