Breaking News and Commentary from CLG

Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government

21 Jun 2013

Breaking: U.S. charges Edward Snowden with espionage 21 Jun 2013 Federal prosecutors have filed a sealed criminal complaint against Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked a trove of documents about top-secret surveillance programs, and the United States has asked Hong Kong to detain him on a provisional arrest warrant, according to U.S. officials. Snowden was charged with espionage, theft and conversion of government property, the officials said. The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, a jurisdiction where Snowden’s former employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, is headquartered and a district with a long track record of prosecuting cases with national security implications.

WikiLeaks Says It Is Working to Negotiate Asylum in Iceland for Snowden 20 Jun 2013 WikiLeaks activists in Iceland are discussing with government officials there the possibility of asylum for Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed hundreds of classified documents on N.S.A. surveillance, Julian Assange, the founder of the antisecrecy group, said Wednesday. "We are in touch with Mr. Snowden's legal team and are in the process of brokering his asylum in Iceland," Mr. Assange said in a conference call with reporters. He said both the legal and practical obstacles were under review by Mr. Snowden's lawyers and supporters.

WikiLeaks says Michael Hastings contacted it just before his death. Are they implying he was murdered? 19 Jun 2013 WikiLeaks just threw some gasoline onto the conspiracy fire. On Wednesday night, they Tweeted: "Michael Hastings contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he died, saying that the FBI was investigating him." What exactly are they trying to say? Hastings has certainly been in contact with WikiLeaks before. And Hastings's last article was about the evils of the NSA -- which ended with the tantalising line, "Perhaps more information will soon be forthcoming." Glenn Greenwald Tweeted a link to the piece after Hastings' death.

GCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world's communications --British spy agency collects and stores vast quantities of global email messages, Facebook posts, internet histories and calls, and shares them with NSA, latest documents from Edward Snowden reveal 21 Jun 2013 Britain's spy agency GCHQ has secretly gained access to the network of cables which carry the world's phone calls and internet traffic and has started to process vast streams of sensitive personal information which it is sharing with its American partner, the National Security Agency (NSA). The sheer scale of the agency's ambition is reflected in the titles of its two principal components: Mastering the Internet and Global Telecoms Exploitation, aimed at scooping up as much online and telephone traffic as possible. This is all being carried out without any form of public acknowledgement or debate. One key innovation has been GCHQ's ability to tap into and store huge volumes of data drawn from fibre-optic cables for up to 30 days so that it can be sifted and analysed. That operation, codenamed Tempora, has been running for some 18 months. GCHQ and the NSA are consequently able to access and process vast quantities of communications between entirely innocent people, as well as targeted suspects.

FBI director tells Congress agency uses drones for surveillance on U.S. soil 19 Jun 2013 FBI director Robert Mueller said Wednesday that the nation's top law enforcement bureau uses drones to conduct surveillance on U.S. soil, though only on a "very, very minimal basis." Mueller, the FBI director since 2001 who is set to retire this year, acknowledged that his agency uses drones in its investigative and law enforcement practices, and is further working to establish better guidelines [?!?] for the use of drones. The FBI director's words come amid a simmering national debate in recent months about what limits should be placed on the government in its law enforcement and anti-terrorism activities.

Mega barf alert: Obama nominates former Bush official Comey to head FBI 21 Jun 2013 President Barack Obama on Friday nominated James Comey, a former Justice Department official who helped oversee national surveillance programs under President [sic] George W. Bush, as the director of the FBI. If the Senate confirms his nomination, Comey would replace Robert Mueller who has held the FBI director's post since the week before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Obama said that, as a former federal prosecutor and top Justice Department official in the Bush administration, Comey is "exceptionally qualified to handle the full range of challenges faced by today’s FBI, from traditional threats like violence and organized crime, to protecting civil rights and protecting children from exploitation to meeting transnational challenges."

Obama to Pick Bush-Era Justice Dept. Official to Lead F.B.I. 21 Jun 2013 President Obama on Friday plans to announce the nomination of James B. Comey, a senior Justice Department official under President [sic] George W. Bush, to become the next director of the F.B.I., according to White House officials. The Senate, which will not be in session in August, is bracing for a significant fight over nominations in July, and it is not clear whether the administration has allotted enough time for the Senate to confirm him by Sept. 3, when Robert S. Mueller III, the F.B.I. director, is mandated to leave his post.

Former investigators 'break silence' about NTSB cover-up of TWA Flight 800 crash --FAA radar evidence reportedly pointed to a missile hit - although they declined to speculate if it was a terrorist attack or friendly fire 19 Jun 2013 Investigators from the first probe of doomed TWA Flight 800 called Wednesday for a new examination of the tragedy, resurrecting old claims that a missile downed the plane. A half-dozen people involved in the original inquiry into the July 17, 1996, blast that killed 230 people on a Paris-bound flight out of JFK Airport claimed new evidence supports the oft-suggested missile theory. "We're are not speculating in the least," insisted Tom Stalcup, co-founder of the Flight 800 Independent Researchers Organization. New evidence suggests there were more than 100 traces of explosives found in the plane's wreckage, and internal CIA documents suggest a cover-up, they charge.

8,000 troops from 19 countries join Jordan 'war games' in readiness for spreading Syria conflict 19 Jun 2013 The West may be flip-flopping over whether or not to send lethal arms to the Syria 'rebels,' but that has not stopped a 12-day military exercise in Jordan, in which thousands of troops from a variety of countries are preparing for the possibility of fighting in Syria. The war games come to an end tomorrow. The exercises, which have been guided by the American military, are the latest stage of Amman's preparation for eventually being sucked into the conflict. The US has already deployed Patriot missile systems in Jordan, near the Syrian border. The operation has been given the moniker, 'Eager Lion' [lol] and involves 8,000 troops from 19 Middle Eastern and European countries.

Three killed, 15 injured in two bomb blasts in Iraq's Diyala Province 19 Jun 2013 At least 3 people have been killed and 15 others injured in two bomb blasts hit in Iraq's Diyala Province. According to Iraqi officials, the explosions took place on Wednesday in al-Miqdadiyah city situated some 80 kilometers northeast of Baghdad. No group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.

Toxic radiation in groundwater at Fukushima: operator --Reports continue to emerge of leaks in storage pools, tanks and pipes. 19 Jun 2013 Cancer-causing radioactive substances have been found in groundwater at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, its Japanese operator said Wednesday, as it pledged to 'prevent' them getting into the sea. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said tests showed the highly toxic strontium-90, a by-product of nuclear fission that can cause bone cancer if ingested, was present at levels 30 times the permitted rate. The firm said it had also detected tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, at around eight times the allowed level. "From groundwater samples we collected, we detected 500,000 becquerels per litre of tritium, that is very high," a TEPCO official told a press conference.

Outbreak of deadly piglet virus spreads to 13 states --Mortality among very young pigs infected in U.S. farms is commonly 50 percent, and can reach 100 percent 19 Jun 2013 A swine virus deadly to young pigs, one never before seen in North America, is spreading rapidly across the United States and proving harder to control than previously believed. The virus now has spread to 13 states - with more than 100 positive cases to date - since it was first diagnosed in the United States last month, said Montserrat Torremorell, the Allen D. Leman Chair in Swine Health and Productivity at the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine. No direct connection has been found between the U.S. outbreak and previously identified outbreaks in Asia and Europe, say scientists and researchers.

Mystery Bee Kill: Causes Being Sought 18 Jun 2013 Tens of thousands of bumble bees and other pollinators were found dead under trees at the Target store in Wilsonville, Oregon, on Monday, June 17th. The massive bee kill was first documented on Monday by Rich Hatfield, a conservation biologist with the Portland-based Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Several shoppers at the store called him to report that there were dead and dying bees all over the parking lot. Specifically, the bees were clustered under dozens of European linden trees. The Xerces Society is internationally known for their work on bee conservation.

Two men accused of bizarre radiation plot --Remotely controlled X-ray weapon would supposedly have been able to deliver lethal doses of radiation to unsuspecting victims 19 Jun 2013 Two men from upstate New York have been accused of trying to make and sell a portable X-ray weapon that they "intended to sell to Jewish groups or a southern branch of the Ku Klux Klan," and which could be fired at people perceived to be enemies of Israel, the Times Union reports. Glendon Scott Crawford and Eric J. Feight have been charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, according to the paper. The two men could face 15 years in prison and $250,000 fines. A press release from the Department of Justice explains investigators said that Crawford reached out to Jewish organizations (at least one of which reported his strange behavior to the police) for assistance with the technology involved in making the X-ray weapon.

Men built X-ray gun to shoot Israel opponents - FBI 20 Jun 2013 The FBI has charged two men with making a portable X-ray weapon that they intended to use to secretly sicken opponents of Israel. An indictment charges 49-year-old Glendon Scott Crawford and 54-year-old Eric J Feight with conspiracy to provide support to terrorists with the weapon. Investigators have said Crawford approached Jewish organisations in 2012 looking for funding and people to help him with technology that could be used to surreptitiously deliver damaging and even lethal doses of radiation against those he considered enemies of Israel.

Man Accused of Threatening to Murder, Burn Sen. Cruz 19 Jun 2013 A Houston man is accused of threatening to kidnap, murder and burn U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and his father and also to "blow up" the sun if he wasn't paid $3 million. Nick Gates was being held Tuesday in the Harris County jail on a $10,000 bond. He's charged with making a terroristic threat. Investigators allege threatening phone calls made June 5 to Cruz's offices in Austin and San Antonio were traced back to Gates.

Apartheid at NYU? Prof. Michael Rectenwald Is Afraid So 20 Jun 2013 Joan Brunwasser (OpEdNews) interviewed Dr. Michael Rectenwald, who is on the faculty of New York University in the Global Studies Program as well as being the founder and chair of CLG (Citizens for Legitimate Government)... JB: This week, you wrote a disturbing piece [published by CLG] called 'Apartheid at NYU.' What did you mean by that? MR: ...This faculty has absolutely no representation on the Faculty Senate, the governing arm of the university. This is a significant exclusion, much like the kind of voting situation that pertained in Great Britain before the voting reform laws were passed in 1832 and 1871, and only a few landholders could vote or run for elected office.

Maine governor to stop talking to 3 newspapers 19 Jun 2013 Maine's blunt-spoken governor [Grade 'A' sociopath] doesn't mince words when opponents dare to cross him but he's saved some of his harshest criticism for newspapers, once telling schoolchildren he isn't a fan of papers and another time saying that reading one is "like paying somebody to tell you lies." Now it's gone to an extreme, with Republican Gov. Paul LePage and his administration regime cutting off comments to three newspapers including one serving the state's biggest city. Adrienne Bennett, the governor's press secretary, said Wednesday that it was her decision to give a blanket "no comment" to the Portland Press Herald, the Kennebec Journal in the state capital of Augusta and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, where LePage once served as mayor.

Senate poised to OK $30 billion for defense contractors in border 'surge' --Proposal for military-style buildup is intended to draw Republican votes for larger 'immigration overhaul' --Spending $30b -- more than four times what senators initially had proposed -- would also be a boost to defense contractors 20 Jun 2013 The Senate is poised to approve a military-style buildup along the U.S. border with Mexico, doubling the number of Border Patrol agents on the ground and tripling the number of drones overhead -- a *30-billion plan designed to win the votes of as many as 15 Republican senators for the immigration reform [cheap labor for big business at taxpayer] expense bill. The plan would add so many new agents to the Border Patrol -- 20,000 -- that if all were deployed at once, they could be stationed roughly every 250 feet along the border, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

Prison sentence for Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling slashed by 10 years 21 Jun 2013 One of the country's most notorious financial scandals came to a protracted legal conclusion Friday as ex-Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling -- already in prison for his role in the once-mighty energy giant's collapse -- was resentenced to 14 years as part of a court-ordered reduction and a separate agreement with prosecutors. Skilling has been in prison since 2006, when he was sentenced to more than 24 years by U.S. District Judge Sim Lake. But an appeals court vacated his prison term in 2009, ruling that a sentencing guideline was improperly applied...The Justice Department said that in an effort to resolve a case that's gone on for more than 10 years, it agreed to an additional reduction of about 20 months as part of a deal to stop Skilling from filing any more appeals.

Ex-UBS, Citi trader Hayes in UK court on Libor charges 20 Jun 2013 Former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes appeared in a London court on Thursday accused of conspiracy to defraud in connection with a global investigation into the Libor interest r*te rigging scandal. Hayes is the first suspect to face a court in an inquiry stretching from North America to Asia into how tr*ders rigged crucial benchmark r*tes such as Libor (London interbank offered rate), against which trillions of d*llars of l*ans are priced.

House rejects farm bill, 62 Republicans vote no 19 Jun 2013 The House rejected a five-year, half-trillion-dollar farm bill classist corpora-terrorist giveaway Thursday that would have cut $2 billion annually from food stamps and let states impose broad new work requirements [and Orwellian GOP drug tests and databases] on those who receive them. Those cuts weren't deep enough for many Republicans who objected to the cost of the nearly $80 billion-a-year food stamp program, which has doubled in the past five years. The vote was 234-195 against the bill, with 62 Republicans voting against it...Only 24 Democrats voted in favor of the legislation after many said the food stamp cuts could remove as many as 2 million needy recipients from the rolls.

USDA Slashes Food for Women, Children, Subsidizes Wineries Instead 20 Jun 2013 On Wednesday, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs penned a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack pointing out waste and abuse within the department that could be cut in order to pay for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) assistance that the department slashed for 600,000 women and children. Coburn points out that despite sequestration, on April 4, representatives from the USDA Rural Development Office held "a workshop on their agency's economic development and affordable housing programs" for residents of Martha's Vineyard. Clearly, affordable housing is not the key issue in an area whose cheapest home is listed at $260,000 (a two-bedroom condo). In fact, Coburn points out, the "entire island of Martha's Vineyard has been designated as a rural area eligible for taxpayer backed home loans by USDA."

Federal court rules against hunters importing polar bear trophies 18 Jun 2013 Hunters cannot import skins or rugs made from polar bears for their own personal display, a federal court affirmed on Tuesday. Since 2008, polar bears have been listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) used to prevent hunters from importing pelts and other parts of the animals...The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed with a lower court in siding with the FWS, prohibiting those imports. It is "quite clear," Judge David Tatel wrote in the court's decision that Congress intended to grant the law's protections "to all depleted species, regardless of how they achieve their depleted status."

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