Washington Post Reports 2010 Pentagon-CIA Drone Target Criteria as 'New' By Lori Price, http://www.legitgov.org/ 06 May 2012 An April 2012 article published in The Washington Post reported as 'new' an expansion of Pentagon-CIA killer drone target criteria. In fact, the change in policy was reported in May 2010 in the Los Angeles Times. Although the country discussed in the 2012 article was Yemen and the 2010 Los Angeles Times story referred to Pakistan, the Pentagon-CIA policy of killing broad numbers of unidentified targets is not a 2012 policy but one established in 2008 by George W. Bush and amplified in 2010 by President Barack Obama.

9/11 defendants charged in Guantanamo 'court' 06 May 2012 The five men accused of plotting the deadly September 11, 2001, attacks [which were actually carried out by the US government] in the United States were formally charged on Saturday with crimes that include murder and terrorism. Confessed [after being waterboarded 183 times] mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed  and the four other accused opted to plead neither innocent nor guilty, but rather to defer their plea to a later date. The special military tribunal charged Mohammed, 47, and the four others with "conspiracy, attacking civilians, murder and violation of the law of war, destruction, hijacking, terrorism" for their role in the strikes in which Al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] militants flew hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: former military prosecutor denounces trial --Morris Davis says allowing evidence from torture means the world will never see Guantanamo Bay trials as fair 04 May 2012 The former chief US prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay has denounced the military trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the [Bush regime's] 9/11 attacks due to appear in court at Guantanamo on Saturday, as intended primarily to prevent the defendants from presenting evidence of torture. Morris Davis, a former colonel who was chief prosecutor when Mohammed was brought to Guantanamo in 2006, said the military commissions will be badly discredited by the use of testimony obtained from waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation" techniques used on the accused men.

ACLU makes request for access to terror statements --US interrogators have been accused of using torture techniques at Guantanamo Bay on alleged terror suspects, many of whom are still being held without charge. 05 May 2012 The American Civil Liberties Union has requested access to statements made by alleged conspirators of the September 11th attacks. The ACLU has made an official request for documents on five alleged plotters who are being tried by a military court. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators are facing a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay prison. Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in 2003, is believed to have made statements about treatment he received at the facility.

U.S. special forces commander seeks to expand operations 04 May 2012 A top U.S. commander is seeking authority to expand clandestine operations against militants and insurgencies around the globe, a sign of shifting Pentagon tactics and priorities. Adm. William H. McRaven, a Navy SEAL and commander of the raid that killed 'Osama bin Laden,' has developed plans that would provide far-reaching new powers to make special operations units "the force of choice" against "emerging threats" over the next decade, internal Defense Department documents show. America's secret military forces have grown dramatically over the last decade as the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community have increasingly merged missions, including drone strikes and counter-terrorism operations.

U.S. to intensify drone strikes in Pakistan 06 May 2012 The United States has decided to intensify drone strikes in tribal areas to mount pressure on Pakistan to restore Nato supply line without tendering apology. Sources told Online that the U.S has absolutely denied demand of apology over Salala check post attack last year added that U.S has informed about its new drone policy to Pakistan. "During recent visit to Pakistan, the US Special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grasman, had informed the leadership of Pakistan about the new drone policy and the U.S is not considering apologizing over Salala attack", sources said.

Suspected U.S. drone attack kills nine in Pakistan 05 May 2012 At least nine people were killed Saturday in an airstrike from a suspected U.S. drone in Pakistan's lawless tribal region along Afghan border, security officials said. The attack was carried out in the Shawal area of North Waziristan. An intelligence official said that the drone fired at least two missiles at a house that was allegedly used by militants. The U.S. has refused to halt drone strikes, saying the pilotless aircraft have helped to kill several top militants.

US airstrike kills four civilians in Afghanistan 06 May 2012 At least four Afghan farmers have been killed in a US airstrike in Kapisa Province in northeastern Afghanistan, Press TV reports. According to Afghan officials, the victims were working in the fields when the airstrike hit early Saturday morning. The raid was carried out despite the security pact signed by Kabul and Washington on Tuesday. [Wow, USociopaths lasted a whole *96 hours* before violating a treaty! That's got to be some kind of record!]

Man in Afghan uniform kills NATO soldier 06 May 2012 A soldier with NATO's US-led coalition in Afghanistan was killed by a man in Afghan army uniform on Sunday, a spokesman for the mission said, in the latest so-called "green-on-blue" attack. The death takes the number of foreign troops killed by Afghans they were working with to at least 19 this year, in at least 13 separate attacks. "An individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon against coalition service members in southern Afghanistan today, killing one service member," NATO'S International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

Roadside bomb kills 5 Afghan border police on patrol near border with Pakistan 05 May 2012 An Afghan official says a roadside bomb has killed five border police in an eastern province near the border with Pakistan. Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, who is a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, says the five were killed Friday evening when the vehicle in which they were patrolling was hit by the remote-controlled bomb. He said Saturday that the incident took place in the province's Dur Baba district.

Blast injures five US-led NATO soldiers in Afghanistan 05 May 2012 At least five US-led soldiers with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have been injured in a roadside explosion in Afghanistan, including three Australian troops, Press TV reports. Australian Military sources say that the blast ripped through the foreign troops' convoy north of Helmand Province on Saturday. The attack comes after Taliban militants announced on Thursday that they will launch their annual "spring offensive" across Afghanistan, vowing to increase their attacks on the US-led forces in the country.

Iran makes arrests in connection with expert assassinations 06 May 2012 Iran's Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi says a number of terrorists involved in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists have been identified and arrested. Moslehi told reporters on Sunday that Iran has recently made important arrests, and explained that those apprehended by the security forces have been arrested for drug and security charges, Mehr News Agency reported.

Transregional forces should leave Iran alone: Cmdr. 06 May 2012 A senior Iranian military commander warns transregional forces to stay away from Iran as they have seen the result of their past meddling. The remarks came following an ABC report on April 28, 2012 about the deployment of US F-22 Raptor stealth fighters at Al Dafra Airbase in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). "Transregional powers should leave Iran alone because they have seen the outcome of their meddlesome actions in the past," Commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili said on Sunday.

Hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners hospitalized 05 May 2012 Ten Palestinian prisoners participating in a mass hunger strike in Israeli jails were placed under medical supervision as their conditions worsened, officials said Saturday. The ten men are among 1,500 to 2,500 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike to demand better conditions and an end to detention without trial. Although Israeli officials and Palestinians give different numbers of hunger strikers, it is still one of the largest prison protests in years.

Socialist François Hollande wins French presidency 06 May 2012 Socialist François Hollande defeated conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday to become France's next president, heralding a change in how Europe tackles its debt crisis and how France flexes its military and diplomatic muscle around the world. Sarkozy conceded defeat minutes after the polls closed, saying he had called Hollande to wish him "good luck" as the country's new leader. Exuberant crowds filled the Place de la Bastille, the iconic plaza of the French Revolution, to celebrate Hollande's victory. He will be France's first leftist chief of state since François Mitterrand was president from 1981 to 1995.

Heads up! USociopaths are attacking themselves again so they can blame Anonymous and/or Iran and pass psycho CISPA: Alerts say major cyber attack aimed at gas pipeline industry --Intrusions aimed at control systems, agency of Homeland Security warns 06 May 2012 A major cyber attack is currently under way aimed squarely at computer networks belonging to US natural gas pipeline companies, according to alerts issued to the industry by the US Department of Homeland Security. At least three confidential "amber" alerts – the second most sensitive next to "red" – were issued by DHS beginning March 29, all warning of a "gas pipeline sector cyber intrusion campaign" against multiple pipeline companies. But the wave of cyber attacks, which apparently began four months ago – and may also affect Canadian natural gas pipeline companies [Yeah, right!] – is continuing. That fact was reaffirmed late Friday in a public, albeit less detailed, "incident response" report from the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT), an arm of DHS based in Idaho Falls.

Anonymous: CIA, Interpol websites 'tango down' [What a shame!] 06 May 2012 The global hacktivist group known as Anonymous claims to have brought down the CIA and Interpol websites on Sunday. The attack is attributed to @AnonsTurkey, with the group using the twitter handle to say they are "hacking the world to save the planet". Earlier this year, Anonymous launched an offensive against government and private sites in protest against the content industry. The CIA website took several hours to get back online, while the Department of Homeland Security went back up online in a matter of minutes.

County denies Homeland Security building permit [LOL!] 04 May 2012 Monroe County officials last week denied a Tampa-based builder's request to construct a U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Tavernier. The project was controversial from the time it became known last year. It was met with large community opposition from neighbors who did not want a federal facility with a possible prisoner holding cell to be built in the historic Upper Keys district. If approved, the 10,316-square-foot building would have housed agents with Homeland Security's Investigative Division and U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Marine Unit.

N.R.C. Skimps on Financial Oversight, Audit Says 06 Apr 2012 The government does a poor job of estimating what it will cost to tear down a nuclear reactor, Congressional auditors say, and it may not be overseeing plant owners well enough to assure that they set aside enough money to do the job. For a study it plans to issue on Monday, the Government Accountability Office scrutinized 12 of the nation's 104 power reactors and found that for 5 of them, the decommissioning cost calculated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was 76 percent or less of what the reactor's owner thought would be needed.

Senator likely to be rebuffed in News Corp inquiry 04 May 2012 The British judicial inquiry investigating questionable reporting practices by Rupert Murdoch's media properties is unlikely to cooperate with a prominent senator's request for evidence of misconduct in the United States, three people familiar with the inquiry said. The sources said that the judicial inquiry, created by British Prime Minister David Cameron and chaired by Sir Brian Leveson, a senior English judge, is not authorized to provide legal assistance or evidence to other bodies or organizations, including foreign government agencies or components. Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, on Wednesday sent a letter to Leveson asking if his inquiry has uncovered any misconduct on the part of Murdoch's News Corp that occurred in the United States or violated American laws.

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US: CIA thwarts new al-Qaida underwear bomb plot 07 May 2012 The Associated Press has learned the CIA thwarted a plot by al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of 'Osama bin Laden.' U.S. officials say the plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb [Does the bomb now have spandex in it?] that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. This new bomb was also built to be used in a passenger's underwear but contained a more refined detonation system. The would-be suicide bomber was told to buy a ticket on the airliner of his choosing and decide the timing of the attack. It's not immediately clear what happened to the would-be bomber. [Oh. They 'lost' the 'would-be' bomber? LOL! Well, check with his handlers at Langley!]

Let the false flag previews begin! Olympics bomb scandal --Worker smuggles in fake explosive 06 May 2012 A terrifying flaw in London's Olympic Park security was exposed last night after a worker smuggled a fake BOMB inside. He sailed past TWO checkpoints without being stopped - just hours before the Olympic Stadium officially opened. These pictures show the dummy Semtex device inside a heavily-guarded ring of steel - just yards from the showpiece Olympic Stadium. It looks like a bomb, it's wired like a bomb and it has a timer like a bomb. But incredibly a worker carrying it in his digger was simply allowed to drive in UNCHALLENGED.

OCFA: 'Nothing radioactive' in crash with truck marked 'Radioactive Material' --1 dead, 1 injured 07 May 2012 (CA) A truck carrying containers marked as containing radioactive material crashed into a tree off the I-605 near Los Alamitos on Sunday night, killing one person and sending another to a hospital trauma center, according to law enforcement agencies. Orange County Fire Authority hazardous-material specialists investigated the containers, which turned out to be construction-equipment vaults, and discovered that they did not contain radioactive material, said Capt. Marc Stone. The slow lane of the southbound freeway was closed near the Katella Avenue/Willow St. off-ramp but has since reopened, according to California Highway Patrol.

Radiation scare after deadly OC pickup truck crash 07 May 2012 (CA) Containers marked 'Radioactive Material' caused a scare after a deadly Southern California freeway pickup truck crash. Orange County Fire Authority hazardous materials experts determined the containers were construction equipment vaults and they didn't contain radioactive material. [Then why were they *marked* 'Radioactive Material?'] The driver of the southbound Chevrolet Silverado lost control on Interstate 605 in the Los Alamitos area at about 6 p.m. Sunday.

Tornado strikes close to Tokyo 07 May 2012 A deadly tornado has ripped through Japan, killing a 14-year-old boy. The dead boy was among others who were rushed to hospitals after high winds and storms ripped through the regions of Ibaraki and Tochigi, 60 kilometres north east of Tokyo. There was major devastation as cars were overturned and roofs went flying. The Japanese meteorological agency had issued a tornado warning about 20 minutes prior to the event.

US-led forces intentionally killing Afghan civilians: Former PM 07 May 2012 Former Afghan Prime Minister Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai has accused the US-led forces in Afghanistan of intentionally killing civilians, Press TV reports. "Since Americans and NATO came to Afghanistan, they are killing and committing many mistakes and crimes, especially in the night raids, they are killing innocent children, men and women, not those who they want to kill," he told Press TV from Kabul on Monday. "They are doing this intentionally, unfortunately. While they say they are in favor of human rights, justice, and so on, what they are doing in Afghanistan is completely against human rights and human justice," he added.

US-led airstrikes leave 11 Afghan civilians dead 07 May 2012 Fresh US-led bombings across war-torn Afghanistan have claimed the lives of at least 11 civilians, leaving many more injured. Earlier, in Afghanistan's northwestern province of Badghis, at least five people were killed and 15 others injured. Also, in the country's southern Helmand Province, another six civilians lost their lives in US-led air raids. A mother and her five children were killed in the incident.

US secretly releasing Taliban prisoners from Bagram prison 07 May 2012 America has secretly been releasing high-level Taliban prisoners from a top security military prison as part of negotiations with insurgents. Up to 20 prisoners have been released from Bagram prison in the past two years after giving assurances they would give up their struggle and reconcile with the government. The clandestine "strategic release" programme at the prison north of Kabul has allowed America to use prisoners as bargaining chips when trying to reach local deals with insurgents.

Not the Change Polar Bears Need: President Obama's Polar Bear Extinction Plan --President Obama's 'Polar Bear Extinction Plan' has a disturbing history. By Kassie Siegel 07 May 2012 Polar bears are in deep trouble. Without help, more than two-thirds of these amazing animals, including all the polar bears in Alaska, will likely be gone by 2050 -- driven off the planet by diminishing sea ice. So it boggles the mind that the Obama administration recently announced plans to reissue a Bush-era regulation that sharply limits protections for polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. Unless the public speaks out forcefully, the regulation will go into effect -- and that could be the last straw for this magnificent species.

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Officials: Al-Qaeda bomber was CIA informant --'The man the terrorists were counting on to carry out the attack was actually working for the CIA.' [LOL! Just as CLG has asserted from the get-go!] 08 May 2012 Last month, U.S. intelligence learned that al-Qaeda's Yemen branch hoped to launch a spectacular attack using a new, nearly undetectable bomb aboard an airliner bound for America, officials say. But the man the terrorists were counting on to carry out the attack was actually working for the CIA and Saudi intelligence, U.S. and Yemeni officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operation. [As CLG posted yesterday: US: CIA thwarts new al-Qaida underwear bomb plot 07 May 2012 The would-be suicide bomber was told to buy a ticket on the airliner of his choosing and decide the timing of the attack. It's not immediately clear what happened to the would-be bomber. [Oh. They 'lost' the 'would-be' bomber? LOL! Well, check with his handlers at Langley! --Turns out, his handlers *were* at Langley! -LRP]

U.S. Confirms Afghan Airstrike 'Mistake' 08 May 2012 The American military claimed responsibility and expressed regret for an airstrike that 'mistakenly' killed six members of a family in southwestern Afghanistan, Afghan and American military officials confirmed Monday. The attack, which took place Friday night, was first revealed by the governor of Helmand Province, Muhammad Gulab Mangal, on Monday. The victims were the family's mother and five of her children, three girls and two boys, according to Afghan officials. [See: US-led forces intentionally killing Afghan civilians: Former PM 07 May 2012.]

US files charges against American who alleged torture 07 May 2012 The U.S. government has issued an arrest warrant for an American citizen who is seeking asylum in Sweden after he went public with allegations of illegal detention and torture while in the United Arab Emirates – which he believes was carried out at the behest of the FBI. In newly filed documents, the U.S. government charges that Yonas Fikre, 33, an Ethiopia-born resident of Portland, Ore., was involved in money transfers set up to avoid U.S. reporting requirements.  Two weeks ago, Fikre went public with his story of alleged mistreatment by the FBI, and claims that he was detained and tortured in the UAE at the behest of the U.S. government.

Virginia man accused of threatening to kill Obama 07 May 2012 A Virginia man has been charged with threatening to kill President Barack Obama. A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Harrisonburg said Christopher Hecker of Waynesboro made death threats against the president and threatened to bomb the White House, hotels and other places, including Philadelphia City Hall and the site of the former World Trade Center. An affidavit said the threats were emailed to various media outlets... The FBI traced the email to Hecker's account.

FBI, DHS in CLG website logs at the same time [Here are the IPs: FBI Criminal Justice Information Systems - 153.31.113.20; Department of Homeland Security - 216.81.81.80.] 09 May 2012 Dhs.gov, dia.mil, quantico.nmci.usmc.mil and 'others' visit the CLG website almost daily. But here's a case where the FBI and DHS were in there at the same time! Here are a few of the 46 log entries from fbi.gov: 153.31.113.20 - - [08/May/2012:09:27:42 -0400] "GET /index.html HTTP/1.1" 200 20845. 153.31.113.21 - - [07/May/2012:07:14:30 -0400] "GET /Alerts-say-major-cyber-attack-aimed-gas-pipeline-industry HTTP/1.1" 200 4138. 153.31.113.27 - - [07/May/2012:14:59:49 -0400] "GET /Kobe-University-lab-creates-novel-H5N1-secret-lab HTTP/1.1" 200 7733. 153.31.113.27 - - [07/May/2012:15:14:27 -0400] "GET /Obamas-Office-Boeing-accessed-CLG-H5N1-secret-lab-article HTTP/1.1" 200 4533. 216.81.81.80 - - [07/May/2012:15:14:55 -0400] "GET /Khalid-Sheikh-Mohammed-former-military-prosecutor-denounces-trial HTTP/1.1" 200 3810. [See also: CLG Sunshine Project.]

What not to wear during the NATO summit 08 May 2012 Downtown workers may experience casual Friday and casual Monday later this month when the NATO summit arrives. Workers at some Chicago office towers are being encouraged to dress down to avoid being targeted by protesters during the meeting of world leaders May 20 and 21. Safety procedures in some high-rises include the recommendation that employees set aside suits, ties and anything with corporate logos. Tenants in the office building at 1 E. Wacker Drive received a memo encouraging them to stay away from wearing suits, urging workers to "look like a protester."

TSA agent spots gun parts hidden in toy animals 08 May 2012 A Transportation Security Administration officer discovered something more than just three stuffed animals inside a carry-on bag going through the conveyor belt of a Rhode Island airport X-ray checkpoint Monday. Hidden inside each of the three toy animals were ammunition parts that when put together become a handgun, said the TSA. A TSA official at the T.F. Green International Airport in Providence noticed the concealed parts in the bag belonging to a 4-year-old who was with his father en route to Detroit. According to the TSA, its officers alerted the airport's police, which found the main frame of a .40 caliber firearm in one animal, a firing pin and a magazine carrying two .40 caliber rounds in another animal, and a slide concealed in the third animal.

House GOP spending bills spare Pentagon, homeland security from cuts --FBI would get budget hike 08 May 2012 Republicans controlling the House are sparing the Pentagon, military veterans and most homeland security programs from the budget knife as action begins on a set of spending bills setting the day-to-day budgets for federal agencies. Foreign aid programs would absorb a 5 percent cut in legislation released Tuesday, while the FBI would receive a 2 percent budget hike in a separate measure. DemocRATs spoke glowingly of a $72 billion veterans and military construction measure approved by an Appropriations subpanel by voice vote and also backed a $600 billion-plus measure funding the Pentagon and military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Gag me with a chainsaw: Mitt Romney: 'I'll Take a Lot of Credit' For Auto Industry Recovery --Romney penned 2008 New York Times op-ed, 'Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.' 08 May 2012 Despite his 2008 call to "let Detroit go bankrupt," presumptive Republican presidential nominee [American Crossroads wh*re] Mitt Romney said Monday that he would "take a lot of credit" for his impact on the U.S. automobile industry's comeback. During an interview with WEWS-TV in Cleveland following a campaign stop, Romney said his views helped save the industry. "I pushed the idea of a managed bankruptcy," Romney said. "And finally, when that was done, and help was given, the companies got back on their feet. So I'll take a lot of credit for the fact that this industry's come back."

Sen. Richard Lugar loses primary to Richard Mourdock 08 May 2012 Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) lost his primary on Tuesday, becoming the latest Republican to fall victim to a tea party-fueled opponent. Results early Tuesday night showed state Treasurer Richard Mourdock leading the six-term senator 61 percent to 39 percent with 40 percent of precincts reporting. The Associated Press has called the race for Mourdock. His nomination also opens the door a crack to Rep. Joe Donnelly, a Democrat whose chances improve now that he doesn't have to face the more moderate longtime incumbent.

Republicans block Senate proposal to keep student loan rates low 08 May 2012 The political battle over President Obama's plan to keep student loan interest rates from skyrocketing escalated as Senate Republicans [Grade 'A' sociopaths] blocked a Democratic proposal to tax wealthier earners to pay for it. Republicans stopped the effort with a filibuster. Rates for 7 million new undergraduate student loans are set to double to 6.8% on July 1 if Congress fails to act. The vote was 52-45, failing to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the GOP filibuster.

Bank of America Showdown (MoveOn.org) 08 May 2012 While Bank of America's CEO and shareholders meet in Charlotte, NC, tomorrow, the 99% is taking to the streets across the nation to protest BofA. As the economy declined, BofA made millions in profits by dodging taxes and foreclosing on homes, which hit communities of color especially hard. Bad publicity is like kryptonite to big corporations—that's why thousands of people are protesting, marching, and raising our voices in solidarity to draw the media's attention to BofA's shameless practices. Nearly 200 communities are standing up to Bank of America this week, and there's one near you. [In Bristol, CT: Rt. 6 North St, Wednesday, May 9, at 5:00 PM.]

North Carolina passes gay marriage ban Amendment One 08 May 2012 North Carolina voters have passed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage today via a statewide ballot measure, according the Associated Press. North Carolina already had a statute banning gay marriage. Amendment One declares that "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state" - vague language that opponents say could threaten domestic partnership protections for all couples while closing the door to any sort of same-sex unions. Until today, North Carolina was the only state in the South did not have a constitutional ban.

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U.S. to resume on-the-ground military training in Yemen 09 May 2012 The United States has resumed on-the-ground military training aimed at bolstering Yemen's fight against 'al Qaeda,' the Pentagon said on Tuesday, following a suspension during a period of intense political upheaval [created by the US]. "We have begun to reintroduce small numbers of trainers into Yemen," Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby told reporters. Kirby said the trainers had begun to be sent back to Yemen "recently" but declined to give further details on when that occurred - or on the number or location of those trainers.

AP: Feds investigate leak in terrorism case --Federal investigation is latest move in aggressive campaign by Obama administration to crack down on leaks 09 May 2012 Federal investigators are conducting a probe into who leaked information about an al-Qaida [al-CIAduh] plot in which an explosive device was to have been detonated on a U.S.-bound airline flight, a law enforcement official said Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity about the leak investigation, which is just getting under way.

Mole who helped CIA foil al-Qa'ida underwear bomb 'was British national' --Officials said it was an upgrade on a bomb [CIA's earlier version] which failed to detonate on a flight over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. 10 May 2012 An undercover agent who foiled an 'al-Qa'ida' plot to blow up a airliner with an underwear bomb is a British national, it was reported tonight. UK intelligence were said to have been "heavily involved" in recruiting the spy who infiltrated a terror group in Yemen in a rare coup for Western agencies. Quoting sources briefed by Saudi counter-terrorism officials, US television networks said the individual grew up in Europe where he was apparently radicalised. He was subsequently "turned" and recruited by Saudi agents last year, they said.

'Underwear bomber' was working for the CIA [as usual] 08 May 2012 A would-be "underwear bomber" involved in a plot to attack a US-based jet was in fact working as an undercover informer with Saudi intelligence and the CIA, it has emerged. The revelation is the latest twist in an increasingly bizarre story about the disruption of an apparent attempt by al-Qaida [al-CIAduh] to strike at a high-profile American target using a sophisticated device hidden in the clothing of an attacker. The plot, which the White House said on Monday had involved the seizing of an underwear bomb by authorities in the Middle East sometime in the last 10 days, had caused alarm throughout the US.

False flag rehearsal: Fort Campbell exercise tests radiation scenario involving 'dirty bomb' --County agencies also take part 10 May 2012 (KY) Fort Campbell first-responders and security officials, as well as off-post agencies from Montgomery County and Hopkinsville, were tested on Thursday with a scenario involving a radioactive "dirty bomb" incident. A number of Fort Campbell soldiers also took part playing the role of casualties, using make-up simulating burns, cuts and abrasions that added to the realism of the exercise. The annual Emergency Management and Antiterrorism event simulated the detonation of a remote-controlled device involving approximately 20 immediate area casualties.

3 Southwest planes searched in bomb scare 09 May 2012 Authorities searched three different Southwest Airlines jets for explosives late Tuesday evening, but nothing suspicious was found. One jet, Flight 811, returned to the gate at Orange County's John Wayne Airport after officials learned of an unspecified threat around 8:30 p.m. They isolated the plane and a bomb squad then determined the jet was safe. A Spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines said that one threat was made, but it was non-specific.

Heads up! Here come the false flags fast and furious, because the Sociopaths in Congress don't want to cut the Fatherland Security or Pentagon budgets: Possible threat grounds Southwest plane at Phoenix Sky Harbor 08 May 2012 Authorities are continuing to investigate possible threats involving three different Southwest Airlines 737s. One plane involved in the investigation landed Tuesday night at Sky Harbor International Airport. A Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman confirms the Southwest plane in question was taken to an isolation pad away from the terminal where dozens of passengers were removed from the plane one by one to be screened. The plane, Southwest flight 1184, arrived in Phoenix at 7:30 p.m. after departing from Orange County, California. The plane was bound for Tulsa, Oklahoma.

FBI chief urges US Congress to renew wide-ranging surveillance power in counterterror probes 09 May 2012 FBI Director Robert Mueller urged Congress on Wednesday to renew wide-ranging surveillance authority to 'thwart' terrorism plots like the latest one in which an 'al-Qaida'-engineered explosive device was to have been detonated on a U.S.-bound airline flight. Mueller told the House Judiciary Committee the FBI is examining the device and said the scheme hatched in Yemen demonstrates that it's essential for Congress to reauthorize counterterrorism tools enacted in 2008. Some of these programs expire at year-end.

Twitter fights request for Occupy protester's data 08 May 2012 Twitter Inc filed a motion in a New York criminal court on Tuesday seeking to quash a subpoena for Tweets and account records associated with Malcolm Harris, a Twitter user who was arrested last fall on the Brooklyn Bridge during an Occupy protest. Prosecutors in Manhattan have sought to build a case around Harris's Tweets by arguing that they show Harris was "well aware of the police instructions, and acted with the intent of obstructing traffic on the bridge," according to court filings. Harris lost a bid to squash the subpoena in April, after a judge ruled that Twitter holds a license to its users' Tweets.

US spy drone crashes in eastern Afghanistan 10 May 2012 An American reconnaissance drone has crashed in Logar Province in the east of war-ravaged Afghanistan, Press TV reports. Din Mohammad Darvish, a spokesman for the provincial governor, confirmed on Tuesday that the surveillance plane went down in suburbs of Pul-e-Alam the capital of Logar Province. Afghan government officials and NATO sources say that a technical failure caused the aircraft to crash. The Taliban militant group has not commented on the incident.

Rocket attack injures three US soldiers in Afghanistan 10 May 2012 At least three US soldiers have been wounded in a rocket attack in Afghanistan's eastern province of Logar, Press TV reports. Din Mohammad Darvish, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said on Thursday that the soldiers were injured after militants targeted a US-run base in the region. The Taliban has not commented on the incident, but such attacks have been carried out by the militant group in the past.

12.6 Billion-Dollar Bailout for Fukushima Operator TEPCO 10 May 2012 Japan is set to nationalize Tokyo Electric Power, the operator of the ravaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, under a Ą1 trillion bailout plan approved Wednesday. The $12.6 billion bailout comes at a time when the government itself is reeling under a debt burden that has mushroomed to more than twice the size of its economy. The government has separately committed Ą2.4 trillion in taxpayer money to meet compensation payments arising from the accident. But estimates of the payments that Tepco might have to pay out have reached many tens of billions of dollars, making further government support likely.

Over 1,300 Tubes Damaged at Calif. Nuclear Plant 08 May 2012 More than 1,300 tubes that carry radioactive water inside the San Onofre nuclear plant in Southern California are so damaged that they will be taken out of service, the utility that runs the plant said Tuesday. The figures released by Southern California Edison are the latest disclosure in a probe of equipment problems that have kept the coastal plant sidelined for more than three months. At issue has been the integrity of tubing that snakes through the plant's four steam generators, which were installed in a multimillion-dollar makeover in 2009 and 2010.

Vermont first state in nation to ban fracking for oil and gas 04 May 2012 With a 103-36 vote in the House of Representatives, Vermont on Friday became the first state to ban hydraulic fracturing to extract oil or natural gas. The bill passed the Senate earlier this week. The House debate was short.

Gay rights campaigners around the world hail Obama's message of support --From Russia, to India and Kenya, campaigners welcomed US President Barack Obama's support for same-sex marriage 10 May 2012 President Barack Obama's support for same-sex marriage in the US has been hailed by campaigners as a significant boost for gay rights around the world – but they warned there was much work to be done. "President Obama joins the British prime minister and the new French president in backing same-sex marriage," said Peter Tatchell, veteran campaigner and national coordinator of the UK's Equal Love campaign, which is seeking to overturn the twin legal bans on gay civil marriages and heterosexual civil partnerships.

Obama says he supports same-sex marriage, first president to take that position 09 May 2012 President Barack Obama told ABC News he supports gay marriage, becoming the first U.S. president to take the position. Obama told ABC reporter Robin Roberts that he had initially opposed the idea of gay marriage, that he felt civil unions may have sufficed in granting gay couples equal rights. "I had hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought that civil unions would be sufficient," he said. "I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people, the word marriage was something that invokes very powerful traditions and religious beliefs." The president said he had a change of heart after long talks with friends and family.

Prep School Bully: Mitt Romney Carried Out 'Vicious Attack' on Gay Student 10 May 2012 Mitt Romney returned from a three-week spring break in 1965 to resume his studies as a high school senior at the prestigious Cranbrook School... John Lauber, a soft-spoken new student one year behind Romney, was perpetually teased for his nonconformity and presumed homosexuality. Now he was walking around the all-boys school with bleached-blond hair that draped over one eye, and Romney wasn't having it. "He can't look like that. That's wrong. Just look at him!" an incensed Romney told Matthew Friedemann, his close friend in the Stevens Hall dorm, according to Friedemann's recollection... A few days later, Friedemann entered Stevens Hall off the school's collegiate quad to find Romney marching out of his own room ahead of a prep school posse shouting about their plan to cut Lauber’s hair. Friedemann followed them to a nearby room where they came upon Lauber, tackled him and pinned him to the ground. As Lauber, his eyes filling with tears, screamed for help, Romney repeatedly clipped his hair with a pair of scissors. The incident was recalled similarly by five students, who gave their accounts independently of one another.

Arizona: Sheriff to Face Civil Rights Suit Over Claims That Include Profiling 10 May 2012 The federal authorities said Wednesday that they planned to sue Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County and his office over claims of civil rights violations, including the racial profiling of Latinos. The Justice Department has been seeking an agreement requiring the sheriff's office to train officers in how to make constitutional traffic stops, collect data on people arrested in traffic stops and reach out to Latinos to assure them that the department is there also to protect them. A "notice of intent to file civil action" came Wednesday from Thomas Perez, an assistant attorney general, in a letter to a lawyer for the sheriff.

Pharma-terrorists are pushing phony epidemics to pimp their mercury-laden, squalene-filled vaccines again: Washington state health officials declare whooping cough epidemic, seek CDC 'help' as cases soar 10 May 2012 Washington state's worst outbreak of whooping cough in decades has prompted health officials to declare an epidemic, seek help from federal experts and urge residents to get vaccinated [That's how the 'epidemic' likely started in the first place.] amid worry that cases of the highly contagious disease could spike much higher. It's the first state to declare a whooping cough, or pertussis, epidemic since 2010, when California had more than 9,000 cases, including 10 deaths. Washington has had 10 times the cases reported in 2011, and so has Wisconsin with nearly 2,000 cases this year, though that state has not declared an epidemic.

Smallest seahorse in US waters might get endangered protection --Dwarf seahorse threatened by loss of Florida seagrass, aquarium trade, 2010 BP oil spill 03 May 2012 A species of seahorse that's just an inch tall, the smallest in U.S. waters, appears to warrant endangered protection, the U.S. said Thursday in kicking off a year-long review process. Found in seagrass beds in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as in the Atlantic off Florida and the Caribbean, the dwarf seahorse caught the attention of the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group that petitioned for protection a year ago.

US Bank Hit By 'Embarrassing' Ł1.2bn Loss 11 May 2012 JP Morgan Chase, the largest bank in the US, has admitted losing $2bn (Ł1.2bn) in a trading portfolio designed to protect the company against risks it took with its own money. Chief executive Jamie Dimon blamed "errors, sloppiness and bad judgement" for the embarrassing loss. "The portfolio has proved to be riskier, more volatile and less effective as an economic hedge than we thought," he said. the bank acknowledged the latest developments could hit its reputation. "This puts egg on our face," Mr Dimon admitted.

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Symbolic court finds Bush, Cheney guilty of war crimes [Great! Now lets move the tribunal from symbolic to actual. And, add Obusha -- for killer drone war crimes and for signing NDAA.] 12 May 2012 George W. Bush and several other members of his regime have been found guilty of war crimes by the Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War. In a unanimous vote on Saturday the symbolic Malaysian war crimes tribunal, part of an initiative by former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, found the former US President guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Seven of his former political associates henchmen, including former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, were also found guilty of war crimes and torture.

U.S. Military Taught Officers: Use 'Hiroshima' Tactics for 'Total War' on Islam 10 May 2012 The U.S. military taught its future leaders that a "total war" against the world's 1.4 billion Muslims would be necessary to protect America from Islamic terrorists, according to documents obtained by Danger Room. Among the options considered for that conflict: using the lessons of "Hiroshima" to wipe out whole cities at once, targeting the "civilian population wherever necessary." The course, first reported by Danger Room last month and held at the Defense Department's Joint Forces Staff College, has since been canceled by the Pentagon brass. Lt. Col. Matthew A. Dooley's Joint Staff Forces College presentation on 'A Counter-Jihad Op Design Model' calls for violent measures in a war against Islam.

US officials said to be fearful of looming Israeli strike on Iran 10 May 2012 US officials fear the unity government established earlier this week signals an impending Israeli attack on Iran, Channel 10 News reported Thursday evening. According to the report, officials are holding marathon talks in Washington out of concern that an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear program may take place before the US presidential elections in November. Undisclosed Washington sources told Channel 10 that they worry Kadima was offered a place in the coalition to shore up support for a preemptive attack aimed at halting the Islamic Republic's nuclear drive, and that Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz would approve of such an attack.

Hezbollah says able to strike anywhere in Israel 11 May 2012 The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah said his militant group was capable of striking any target in neighboring Israel, saying "the days when we fled and they did not are over". "Today we are not only able to hit Tel Aviv as a city but, God willing, we are able to hit specific targets in Tel Aviv and anywhere in occupied Palestine," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address. "For every building destroyed in Dahiya, a building will be destroyed in Tel Aviv," he said, referring to Hezbollah's stronghold in a suburb of southern Beirut.

U.S. May Scrap Costly Efforts to Train Iraqi Police --Since 2003, the American government has US taxpayers have spent nearly $8 billion training the Iraqi police. 13 May 2012 In the face of spiraling costs and Iraqi officials who say they never wanted it in the first place, the State Department has slashed - and may jettison entirely by the end of the year - a multibillion-dollar 'police training program' that was to have been the centerpiece of a hugely expanded civilian mission here. The 'training' effort, which began in October and has already cost $500 million, was conceived of as the largest component of a 'mission' billed as the most ambitious American aid effort since the Marshall Plan. [$8 billion spent pretending to train Iraqi police -- aka one big bl*wjob for US mercenaries -- but we can't get single-payer health care. Notice that there were no hypocritical sociopaths whining about the deficit when Bush was exploding it?]

Afghan police kill two British soldiers in Helmand 13 May 2012 Members of the Afghan national police force have shot dead two British soldiers in the troubled Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. On Sunday, the British Ministry of Defense confirmed that the soldiers were killed on Saturday by two Afghan police forces at a military base in the southern city of Lashkar Gah. A statement by the ministry says that one of the soldiers was with the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, while the second was an airman from the Royal Air Force.

Roadside bomb kills 4 policemen in northwestern Afghanistan 12 May 2012 Four policemen have been killed by a roadside bomb in Badghis province, which is located 555 kilometers (344 kilometers) northwest of the Afghan capital Kabul. Provincial governor's spokesman Sharafudin Majedi said that a police pick-up truck hit a roadside bomb planted by militants in the Qadis district of the province on Saturday. "Unfortunately, all four policemen onboard were killed," he added.

US pledges to go ahead with missile shield plan in Europe 11 May 2012 Objections from Russia notwithstanding, the US has said that it along with NATO would go ahead with a European missile defence programme. The United States and NATO have been wanting to launch a missile shield in Europe by 2020 to counter threats from "rogue" states like Iran. But Russia has been objecting on the grounds that it poses threat to its national security. Moscow wants a written guarantees from NATO that it will not be used against Russia's strategic nuclear deterrent. [But, who is going to counter threats from 'rogue' states such as the US and Israel?]

Amendment puts spotlight on Pentagon propaganda 09 May 2012 A member of the House Armed Services Committee threatened an amendment to block funding for Pentagon propaganda efforts Wednesday, citing USA TODAY reports questioning their efficacy and management. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., called the information operations program a "fiasco" and said contracts with the largest propaganda contractor, Los Angeles-based Leonie Industries, should be immediately suspended. Johnson also called for an investigation into reprisals against the USA TODAY journalists who have reported on the program, whom he said were "targeted in a possibly criminal disinformation and reputation attack."

Journalists Smeared Online While Investigating Pentagon Propaganda 20 Apr 2012 A reporter and an editor from USA Today have become targets of a shadowy online misinformation campaign while investigating Pentagon propaganda contractors, according to the paper. Tom Vanden Brook and Ray Locker noticed fake websites, Twitter accounts, Facebook profiles, and even Wikipedia pages start popping up right after they began asking around about the military's "information operations" programs in Iraq and Afghanistan. TomVandenBrook.com and RayLocker.com were both registered after the men started reporting stories critical of the Pentagon contractors, but were taken down after the journalists inquired about the bogus sites. Both pages used a proxy service to disguise who registered them.

F-16 jets intercept small plane as Obama leaves Los Angeles --Pilot was detained by police until Secret Service Agents arrived 13 May 2012 Two F-16 fighter jets intercepted a small private plane that violated restricted airspace Friday as President Barack Obama was about to depart from Los Angeles International Airport aboard Air Force One, authorities said. The North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled the two jets that intercepted the Piper 28 aircraft over northeast Los Angeles at approximately 9:45 a.m. PDT, and followed it until it landed about five minutes later and was met by local law enforcement, NORAD said in a statement.

US spy agency can keep mum on Google ties: court 11 May 2012 The top-secret US National Security Agency is not required to reveal any deal it may have with Google to help protect against cyber attacks, an appeals court ruled Friday. The US Court of Appeals in Washington upheld a lower court decision that said the NSA need not confirm or deny any relationship with Google, because its governing statutes allow it keep such information secret. The ruling came in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from a public interest group, which said the public has a right to know about any spying on citizens.

'Sonic weapon' deployed in London during Olympics --Royal Marines operating in patrol craft from HMS Ocean are also heavily armed with conventional firearms. 11 May 2012 The Ministry of Defence has confirmed a device which can be used as a "sonic weapon" will be deployed in London during the Olympics. The American-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) can be used to send verbal warnings over a long distance or emit a beam of pain-inducing tones. The equipment was spotted fixed to a landing craft on the Thames at Westminster this week. An MoD spokesman said it would be used "primarily in the loud hailer mode".

False flag alert: More than 100 homes evacuated as bomb disposal experts carry out four controlled explosions after two terror arrests --Officers found explosives in a garage after searching two homes in the Cheltenham area --Substances found just 1/2 a mile from government spy base GCHQ [Gee, I wonder where the explosives came from?] 12 May 2012 More than 100 homes have been evacuated as bomb disposal experts carried out four controlled explosions yesterday morning. Two men were arrested on terrorism charges following the discovery of suspected explosives in a garage during raids on two properties in Cheltenham, according to police. Officers arrested a 52-year-old man from the Hester's Way area under the Explosive Substances Act.

Metra unveils tough rules for NATO weekend 11 May 2012 Metra Friday announced special security precautions that will be in effect during next weekend's NATO summit. And though most services will operate, there will be sharp and sometimes inconvenient restrictions, particularly on Monday, May 21... Passengers on all lines may be subject to search and/or screening before boarding or while en route, Metra said in a briefing that's still continuing. Riders will be able to carry only one bag, not exceeding 15 inches square and 4 inches deep. Boxes, parcels, luggage, backpacks and bicycles will not be allowed on any train and cannot be stored at Metra stations. Passengers will not be allowed to carry any food or liquids on the trains during the three days, including coffee.

Terrorism at NATO summit viewed as improbable, not impossible --FBI quietly on alert: 'Chicago has become a more high-profile [false flag] target, we all know that' 11 May 2012 ...Although experts call a coordinated attack on the summit very unlikely, signs of the care being taken to prevent a large-scale incident are there in the transportation plans released to the public in advance of the May 20-21 summit. The airspace over downtown will be closed; Burnham Harbor will be cleared of boats; and strips of the Stevenson Expressway and Lake Shore Drive that run near the summit site of McCormick Place convention center will be shut, helping to ensure vehicles don't get too close.

Accused Anonymous hacker Jeremy Hammond to be arraigned in NYC Posted by Legitgov 14 May 2012 Jeremy Hammond, accused Anonymous hacker, will be arraigned on Monday, May 14, 2012, at 12:00 PM - U.S. Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan Courtroom 12A --Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska, Southern District of New York. The United States of America versus Jeremy Hammond --Jeremy Hammond is a 27-year-old political activist from Chicago, Illinois. He is currently incarcerated at the federal jail in New York City, charged with hacking conspiracies carried out by the LulzSec/AntiSec wing of Anonymous. His four co-defendants, Ryan Ackroyd, Jake Davis, Darren Martyn and Donncha O'Cearrbhail, are awaiting extradition from Britain and Ireland. [Free Jeremy Hammond!]

New Charges Added to Hacktivist Indictment 04 May 2012 A new federal indictment against five men charged with being the hackers behind cyber-attacks against major media companies, governments around the world and private intelligence firms adds a prominent defendant, and a previously overlooked attack. A criminal complaint against Jeremy Hammond, who went by the handles "Anarchaos," "sup_g," "burn," "yohoho," "POW," "tylerknowsthis" and "crediblethreat," was made public in March. He was re-indicted on Wednesday, with a new charge of hack attacks against the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor.

Muslim Americans challenge 'no fly' list in appeals court 11 May 2012 Lawyers for 15 Muslims in the United States placed on a U.S. "no-fly" list barring them from commercial air travel asked a federal appeals court on Friday to reinstate their constitutional challenge of the anti-terrorism measure. The plaintiffs, who are U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents, said they learned of their "no-fly" status when they were blocked from boarding a commercial flight without prior notice, and were later denied any effective means of petitioning the government to be removed from the list. The group originally filed its lawsuit against the U.S. government in June 2010.

Anonymous blogger must appear in NY court 11 May 2012 A New York judge has ordered an anonymous blogger to appear in court next week over accusations that the blog Alfredlittle.com wrote false reports about a Chinese company to drive down the stock. The blogger was served with a subpoena via email to appear in state Supreme Court in New York on May 16, according to a court filing on Friday. The blogger could not be identified or reached for comment. Deer Consumer Products, a Chinese appliance maker listed on the NASDAQ exchange, last year sued "Alfred Little" and several unnamed contributors for defamation.

Occupy Tents Pitched Outside Bank of England 12 May 2012 Eleven people have been arrested after anti-capitalism protesters from the Occupy movement pitched tents outside the Bank of England. They have been given a deadline to leave the site and are currently considering whether to defy the police orders. The protest by some 300 demonstrators in the City of London with banners saying "Bank of England is the St Paul's of Money" and "A Line of Tents Guards Our Future" started with a rally yards away from the Stock Exchange near St Paul's Cathedral.

30,000 police march through London in protest over cuts 10 May 2012 More than 30,000 officers from all over the country marched through the capital in the only action they are legally entitled to take, in a show of defiance against police reforms and budget cuts. To reflect the number of officer numbers expected to be cut, 16,000 of the marchers wore black baseball caps as they walked from Millbank, past the Home Office to Parliament Square and onto Waterloo Place. The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said the sea of black caps showed the number of officers the public will lose over four years as a result of the cuts.

Romney's ex-classmate: It was assault 11 May 2012 Phillip Maxwell wishes he had done something to stop it. Maxwell, a Michigan attorney, is still haunted by what he claims he witnessed on the campus of the state's elite Cranbrook School in 1965: a young Mitt Romney and a group of friends holding down a classmate named John Lauber and cutting off chunks of his long hair. "It was not an event you take a lot of pride in. And it was that way for all of us," Maxwell told CNN. Maxwell confirmed the story, first reported in the Washington Post. However, he insisted the incident was far worse than a high school prank. "I'm a lawyer. I know what an assault is. This kid was scared. He was terrified. That's an assault," Maxwell said.

In film, Walker talks of 'divide and conquer' union strategy 10 May 2012 A filmmaker released a video Thursday that shows Gov. [sociopath] Scott Walker saying he would use "divide and conquer" as a strategy against unions. Walker made the comments to Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks, who has since given $510,000 to the governor's campaign - making her Walker's single-largest donor and the largest known donor to a candidate in state history. In the video shot on Jan. 18, 2011 - shortly before Walker's controversial budget-repair destruction bill was introduced and spawned mass protests - Hendricks asked the governor whether he could make Wisconsin a "completely red state, and work on these unions, and become a right-to-work" state. Walker replied that his "first step" would be "to divide and conquer" through his budget-adjustment bill, which curtailed most collective bargaining for most public employee unions.

House Votes to Cut Census Survey Done Since Thomas Jefferson 09 May 2012 The House voted Wednesday to eliminate the detailed surveys of America that have been conducted by the Census Bureau since the nation's earliest days. House Republicans, increasingly suspicious of the census generally, advanced a measure to cut the American Community Survey. It passed 232 to 190. The survey is not part of the constitutionally mandated population count, but some version of it has been done by law as part of the decennial survey since the time of Thomas Jefferson to assess the needs of the nation.

2,300 birds found dead along Chilean beaches 12 May 2012 Chilean officials are asking fishermen to help save birds caught in nets after thousands of dead fowl appeared along coastal Chile this week. At least 2,300 dead birds were found along beaches between Cartagena and Playa de Santo Domingo, Chile, said Jose Luis Britos, and environment professor and director of the Museum of Natural History of San Antonio, Chile. One hypothesis for the increase this year involves climate... Earlier this week, Peruvian authorities say warm waters off that country's coast are to blame for the deaths of more than 5,000 marine birds.

Game Over for the Climate By James Hansen 10 May 2012 Global warming isn't a prediction. It is happening. That is why I was so troubled to read a recent interview with President Obama in Rolling Stone in which he said that Canada would exploit the oil in its vast tar sands reserves "regardless of what we do." If Canada proceeds, and we do nothing, it will be game over for the climate. Canada's tar sands, deposits of sand saturated with bitumen, contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history. If we were to fully exploit this new oil source, and continue to burn our conventional oil, gas and coal supplies, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eventually would reach levels higher than in the Pliocene era, more than 2.5 million years ago, when sea level was at least 50 feet higher than it is now.

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Federal Judge Blocks Controversial NDAA --Judge agreed statute failed to 'pass constitutional muster' 16 May 2012 A federal judge [Katherine Forrest] granted a preliminary injunction late Wednesday to block provisions of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that would allow the military to indefinitely detain anyone it accuses of knowingly or unknowingly supporting terrorism. Signed by President Barack Obama on New Year's Eve, the 565-page NDAA contains a short paragraph, in statute 1021, letting the military detain anyone it suspects "substantially supported" al-Qaida [al-CIAduh], the Taliban or "associated forces." The indefinite detention would supposedly last until "the end of hostilities."

Federal judge: Terror law violates 1st Amendment 16 May 2012 A judge on Wednesday struck down a portion of a law giving the government wide powers to regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists, saying it left journalists, scholars and political activists facing the prospect of indefinite detention for exercising First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan said in a written ruling that a single page of the law has a "chilling impact on First Amendment rights."

Judge Napolitano: Shoot down a drone, become an American hero --FAA: 30,000 small, remote-controlled drones could be above the homes of every American. 17 May 2012 Fox News commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano has found a novel approach to handling the whole drone surveillance dilemma that has Americans worried that the government will soon watch their every move from the sky. Speaking out against the future of aerial eavesdropping in America, Judge Napolitano said on Fox on Tuesday, "The first American patriot that shoots down one of these drones that comes too close to his children in his backyard will be an American hero." [Or, even if you don't have children! They're predator drones run amok by predators.] Congress is currently working alongside defense contractors mercenaries, the Federal Aviation Administration and local law enforcement agencies across the country, among others, to draft plans to put unmanned aerial aircraft into US sky in the near future.

House Panel Adds $849 Million for Israel's Missile Defense 15 May 2012 The House panel that controls military expenditures proposed a net increase of $874 million for weapons over the Pentagon's budget plans for the year starting Oct. 1. The largest amounts that the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee added in producing a $102.4 billion procurement request were $562.4 million to buy 11 additional Boeing Co. F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets and $447 million to buy seven more Lockheed Martin Corp. C-130J transport planes, according to the defense panel's report obtained today... The panel recommended adding $848.9 million for Israel's missile defense, including $680 million for the Iron Dome system and $111.4 million for a system called David's Sling. [Oh. I thought there was a deficit.]

Iran executes Mossad assassin of top nuclear scientist 15 May 2012 The man convicted of espionage for the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, and assassinating a top Iranian nuclear physicist has been executed in Tehran's Evin Prison. Majid Jamali Fashi, who assassinated Massoud Ali-Mohammadi in January 2011, was executed under the Iranian judicial system on Tuesday. Jamali Fashi was also found guilty of receiving training from Mossad inside Israel as well as $120,000 to assassinate the Iranian scientist.

Charges Sought in Bomb Plot Leak 13 May 2012 Top U.S. lawmakers called for criminal charges against the person who leaked classified information about a recent foiled Yemeni [CIA] bomb plot, warning that the intelligence breach posed a danger to national security and ratcheting up scrutiny of its source. Rep. Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican who chairs the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said his staff was conducting a "preliminary review" of the leak and could open "either a full-blown committee investigation or we will refer to criminal charges to the FBI."

Guantanamo lawyers want ex-CIA official to testify 16 May 2012 Defense lawyers want to force a former CIA official who supervised what they called torture of 'al Qaeda' captives to testify in the war crimes tribunal for five Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 attacks. They argue that Jose Rodriguez, former director of the CIA's National Clandestine Service, has information pertinent to the defense allegation that the government is using security classifications to hide evidence their clients were tortured. The lawyers want Rodriguez to testify during a hearing set for June 12-15 for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the confessed architect of the hijacked plane attacks, and four other captives accused of funding and training the hijackers.

Afghan peace negotiator shot dead 13 May 2012 An assassin armed with a silenced pistol shot dead a top member of the Afghan peace council Sunday at a traffic intersection in the nation's capital, police said. Arsala Rahmani was a former Taliban official who reconciled with the government and was active in trying to set up formal talks with the insurgents. He was shot at an intersection in western Kabul by a gunman in a white Toyota Corolla while being driven to his office, said Mohammad Zahir, head of the city police's criminal investigation division.

2 US Navy ships collide in Pacific 16 May 2012 An 844-foot-long U.S. Navy assault ship collided with a refueling tanker Wednesday in the Pacific Ocean, causing damage to both ships, but there were no injuries or fuel spills, military officials said. The midmorning accident between the amphibious assault vessel USS Essex and the oiler USNS Yukon occurred about 120 miles off the coast of Southern California as the Essex was approaching the Yukon to be refueled, said Cmdr. Charlie Brown, a spokesman for the 3rd Fleet. Brown said the steering apparently stopped working on the Essex, which was carrying 982 crew members on its way to San Diego for scheduled maintenance.

National Guard Probes Another Extremist Allegation 15 May 2012 The Missouri National Guard is investigating whether it may have another extremist in its ranks. Earlier this month, authorities in Florida arrested several members of a white supremacist group who were alleged to be training for a race war in America. Those arrested on conspiracy and hate crime charges were members of the American Front, a militia-style neo-Nazi group with a long history of violence against black, gay and Jewish people. According to an arrest affidavit filed in the case, a member of American Front's Missouri chapter, who also is a National Guard member, was at the group's compound in north Florida in July 2011 to conduct training in hand-to-hand combat and weapons.

Mysterious illness strikes hundreds of flight attendants - are 'toxic uniforms' to blame or is it Fukushima? Are Alaska Airlines flight attendants suffering the effects of nuclear radiation fallout? 16 May 2012 Hundreds of Alaska Airlines flight attendants have filed a formal complaint about uniforms they suspect might be causing their skin to rash and develop lesions, and their hair to fall out. But based on the timing of the symptoms and their relation to similar symptoms in local marine life and polar bear populations, it appears as though radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster may also be a potential culprit.

San Onofre's future hinges on finding cause of abnormal tube wear 17 May 2012 On Jan. 31, alarms alerted the control room at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station that a radiation leak was occurring in one of the nearly 39,000 tubes that carry radioactive water in the steam generators. That failure led to an unparalleled shutdown of one of California's two nuclear power plants and triggered more than three months of detective work by Southern California Edison officials and federal nuclear regulators that has yet to determine the problem's root cause or when San Onofre will reopen. Since then, the outlook for the plant has gotten worse. Now, about 1,300 tubes — more than 3% of all the plant's tubes — have been taken out of service because of unexpected wear.

Prairie Island nuclear security supervisor fired after faked drug test 15 May 2012 (MN) A security supervisor at Xcel Energy's Prairie Island nuclear power plant was fired after he was caught faking a drug test urine sample, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says. The incident occurred on July 23, 2010, during part of a fitness-for-duty random drug test. The supervisor was fired after failing to report for a second sample, the NRC said.

Not guilty plea from Chicago man in NYC Anonymous hacking case 14 May 2012 A Chicago man facing computer hacking charges in a federal investigation targeting the worldwide group Anonymous is entertaining himself behind bars the old fashioned way: by reading books. Jeremy Hammond is doing "great," defense attorney Elizabeth Fink said after Hammond's not guilty plea Monday in federal court in Manhattan. There was no bail request at the brief hearing Monday for Hammond, who pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit computer hacking and other charges. He's been held in a lower Manhattan lockup since an initial court appearance in Chicago in March.

Anonymous: 'We have access to every classified database in the US' 14 May 2012 Businesses have suggested it. The government has all but confirmed it. And according to one alleged member, they both might very well be right. A hacker tied to Anonymous says the loose-knit collective may be the most powerful organization on Earth. "The entire world right now is run by information," Chris Doyon tells Postmedia News from an undisclosed location in Canada... In a world where the most critical of information isn't locked up in vaults but instead encoded in easily obtainable binary, Doyon says that crackers like those in Anonymous are in possession of some of the most powerful knowledge known to man.

Mega barf alert: AT&T named vendor for Homeland Security 15 May 2012 AT&T Inc. said Tuesday that it was named a prime vendor for a $3 billion contract with the Department of Homeland Security, giving AT&T the ability to compete for work under the contract. The so-called Tactical Communications Equipment and Services contract is a base contact for two years and three one-year extension options. Homeland Security uses the contract to buy communications devices, infrastructure and services used by first responders. AT&T will compete for DHS business through its Government Solutions unit, which is housed in AT&T's affiliate AT&T Corp.

8 NATO protesters arrested at Prudential Plaza --Security guards shut down the elevator banks, and approximately 30 Chicago police bike officers responded within minutes. 14 May 2012 Less than one week before the NATO Summit begins, eight protesters were arrested Monday at Prudential Plaza. The protesters said they were taking a stand against the war in Afghanistan. They gathered downtown Monday morning at the building that houses President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters.

Student protesters disrupt UC regents meeting 16 May 2012 Student protesters angry about another possible tuition hike disrupted the meeting of the University of California regents Wednesday in Sacramento, with some demonstrators dressed in orange prisoner uniforms and singing about "working on the chain gang." The regents were about to discuss a recent report about the treatment of protesters on campuses and then analyze the impact of the governor's May revision of the state budget on tuition. After 15 or so protesters began chanting and marching around the meeting, they ignored orders to clear the hall.

Mystery surrounds Kennedy wife's death 17 May 2012 Robert F Kennedy Jr's estranged wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy has been found dead in her home. Attorney Kerry Lawrence, who had previously represented her, said he didn't know the cause of her death at age 52. An autopsy was scheduled for tomorrow (NZ time). Police confirmed a body was found on Robert F Kennedy Jr's property in Bedford, north of New York City, but wouldn't release the dead person's name. The former Mary Richardson, a longtime connection of the Kennedy clan, married Robert Kennedy Jr, a prominent environmental lawyer and the son of Senator Robert F Kennedy and nephew of President John F Kennedy, in 1994.

Wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. found dead at NY home 16 May 2012 Mary Kennedy, the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, was found dead on Wednesday at her home in a New York City suburb, an officer at the Westchester County Medical Examiner's Office said. She was 52. Mary Kennedy had four children with Kennedy, the son of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy. He is a prominent New York environmentalist.

French President Hollande's plane 'hit by lightning' 15 May 2012 Newly sworn in French President Francois Hollande has been delayed in his journey to Berlin for key talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after his plane was hit by lightning. The plane was forced to turn back to Paris. "The plane could have been hit by lightning," a presidential spokesman told the AFP news agency. "For security reasons, it turned back. At this moment, the president is again en route."

Greece could exit eurozone, IMF chief tells FRANCE 24 15 May 2012 The head of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised the possibility that Greece could leave the eurozone in an orderly fashion. "If the country's budgetary commitments are not honoured, there are appropriate revisions to do, which means either supplementary financing and additional time or mechanisms for an exit, which in this case must be an orderly exit," Christine Lagarde said in an interview with France 24.

FBI's Mueller confirms JPMorgan preliminary probe 16 May 2012 FBI Director Robert Mueller on Wednesday confirmed that the agency has opened a "preliminary investigation" into JPMorgan Chase & Co, the nation's largest bank. JPMorgan disclosed last week that it had suffered a multibillion-dollar trading loss due to a failed hedging strategy. A person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday that the FBI's New York office has opened a preliminary probe into the loss, which has been estimated at more than $2 billion.

Ron Paul ends campaign, vows to push agenda 14 May 2012 Ron Paul, whose anti-government, pro-rights creed attracted enthusiastic supporters and hefty donations but few delegates, will not campaign in the 11 remaining Republican primary states, he announced Monday. In effectively conceding the presidential nomination to Mitt Romney, the Texas representative turns his focus toward influencing the Republican Party platform for the fall election. Paul said this year's run for the presidency - his third - is part of a 40-year endeavor that will continue no matter who wins the White House.

Trayvon Martin killed by single gunshot fired from 'intermediate range,' autopsy shows 16 May 2012 Florida teenager Trayvon Martin died from a single gunshot wound to the chest fired from "intermediate range," according to an autopsy report reviewed Wednesday by NBC News. The official report, prepared by the medical examiner in Volusia County, Fla., also found that the 17-year-old Martin had one other fresh injury – a small abrasion, no more than a quarter-inch in size – on his left ring finger below the knuckle.

New Movie Boosts Campaign to Save Polar Bears 14 May 2012 A new 3D IMAX movie about the Arctic is opening in the U.S. and, soon, around the world. The movie, directed by Greg MacGillivray, is part of an international campaign to save the polar bears and their home. Polar bears are in trouble. Scientists say only 20,000 remain, and their long term survival could be at risk. The new IMAX movie, To the Arctic, tells the story of the Arctic's endangered ecosystem - through a polar bear mother and her twin cubs.

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Lawyers Guild claims NATO activists 'disappeared' without warrant or charges --'Essentially these people were disappeared for more than 12 hours until we could finally locate them.' 18 May 2012 According to an interview with National Lawyers Guild (NLG) spokesman Kris Hermes, Chicago police officers raided a Bridgeport apartment complex on Wednesday evening without a valid warrant and detained up to nine people without cause. The NLG worked through the night to locate the arrested activists. They were unable to get any information from the Chicago Police Department (CPD) or even any acknowledgement that a raid had taken place.

Fighter Jets In Skies Over Chicago On Friday Morning Before NATO Summit --Military jets have been authorized to shoot down any aircraft that violates secure airspace over Chicago. 17 May 2012 U.S. fighter jets will be actively flying over Chicago on Friday as part of a security drill in the days before the NATO Summit. The U.S. North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Command Region fighters–including Air Force KC-135 tankers, Air Force F-16s, and a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopters–will be visible on Friday morning, beginning around 9 a.m. Residents in the Chicago area can expect flights to continue for approximately two hours.

Protesters March to Obama Campaign HQ, NATO Member Consulates 17 May 2012 Dozens of anti-NATO activists focused their attention Thursday on President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters and a handful of downtown consulates for NATO member nations. CBS 2 reports it has been a busy day around the Prudential Building, the site of Obama's re-election campaign headquarters. As has been the case all week, protesters touched on a variety of subjects, calling for an end to military drone strikes and oil pipelines in Alaska and Canada.

Authorities: Nuclear engineer sought 'thrill' in DuPage hijacking 11 May 2012 (IL) A man who operates reactors at a nuclear power plant was "thrill seeking" when he put on a mask and hijacked a woman's car at gunpoint, DuPage County authorities said Friday. Michael Buhrman, a senior reactor operator at Dresden Nuclear Power Plant in Morris, was charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking. Authorities said the 31-year-old Coal City man was armed with a loaded .45 caliber handgun and wearing a Halloween mask that resembled an elderly man when he approached a woman about 10 p.m. Wednesday in a Kohl's parking lot in Woodridge.

Nuclear power regulators call for fewer immediate evacuations in an accident 17 May 2012 The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the nation's nuclear power regulators quietly overhauled community emergency planning for nuclear accidents for the first time in more than three decades, requiring fewer exercises for major accidents and recommending that fewer people be evacuated right away. The revamp is the first since the program began as a result of the Three Mile Island accident, the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history. The revisions also eliminate a requirement that local responders always practice for a release of radiation. Eric Epstein, head of the watchdog group Three Mile Island Alert, called the new rules "insane."

AP: Evacuations and drills pared near nuclear plants 16 May 2012 Without fanfare, the nation's nuclear power regulators have overhauled community emergency planning for the first time in more than three decades, requiring fewer exercises for major accidents and recommending that fewer people be evacuated right away. Nuclear watchdogs voiced surprise and dismay over the quietly adopted revamp — the first since the program began after Three Mile Island in 1979. A mandate that local responders always run practice exercises for a radiation release has been eliminated — a move viewed as downright bizarre by some emergency planners.

United States Enrichment Corp., bailed out once, seeks more federal money for new project --USEC's supporters in Congress have inserted language in versions of three different spending bills that would provide as much as $150 million. 16 May 2012 The troubled [corpora-terrorists] United States Enrichment Corp., on the brink of closing a Kentucky enrichment plant, has been bailed out in a complex Energy Department accord designed to keep that facility open one more year. But USEC, a Bethesda-based firm that provides fuel for nuclear power reactors, is seeking more federal money to carry out research and development for the American Centrifuge Project, a more efficient enrichment plant in Ohio that the company calls vital to its future.

Wisconsin Dems furious with DNC for refusing to invest big money in Walker recall By Greg Sargent 14 May 2012 Top Wisconsin Democrats are furious with the national party - and the Democratic National Committee in particular - for refusing their request for a major investment in the battle to recall Scott Walker, I'm told. The failure to put up the money Wisconsin Dems need to execute their recall plan comes at a time when the national Republican Party is sinking big money into defending Walker, raising fears that the DNC's reluctance could help tip the race his way... Obama's political operation is providing volunteers with info on how to get involved in the recall battle and how to register to vote, but isn't investing any money in the race, according to officials. [That's because Obusha works 24/7 for the GOP and his Wall Street overlords.]

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MBTA to spread bacteria on Red Line in bioterror test --Homeland Security and the T plan to release 'dead' bacteria at three Red Line stops during off-hours. --Dates for the tests have not been made known. 18 May 2012 The MBTA [Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority] and Homeland Security plan to release dead [Yeah, right!] bacteria into three Red Line stations this summer to test bioterror sensors. The bacteria, bacillus subtilis, is not infectious even in its live form, according to government documents. The tests will be done in Cambridge and Somerville at the Davis, Harvard Square and Porter Stations.

US bioterrorists are dying to get the pandemic party started: Designer Flu: How scientists made a killer virus airborne 02 Jun 2012 Last summer, scientists performed an experiment that could have been ripped from the script of a Hollywood thriller. Sealed off in high-tech laboratories in the Netherlands and Wisconsin, researchers transformed one of the world's most deadly viruses, transmissible by direct contact, into versions capable of spreading through the air... Merely swapping hemagglutinins wasn't enough to make the composite virus into an airborne infectious flu in ferrets, though. [Wisconsin] Researchers helped the virus along by transferring it directly from one ferret to another. At least four changes to the molecule were needed to make the virus readily transmit via airborne droplets, the researchers found. [See: Flu 'Oddities'.]

3 men charged with terror conspiracy ahead of NATO summit 19 May 2012 Three men arrested earlier this week when police raided a Chicago apartment were being held Saturday on terrorism conspiracy charges, accused of trying to make Molotov cocktails ahead of the NATO summit. Their attorney, Sarah Gelsomino, said the men are "absolutely in shock and have no idea where these charges are coming from." They were scheduled to be in court later Saturday for a bond hearing on charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism, possession of an explosive or incendiary device and providing material support for terrorism. Six others arrested Wednesday in the South Side raid were released Friday without being charged. [Anonymous, get busy.]

Detained NATO protesters accused of Chicago terror plot 19 May 2012 Three men arrested when police raided a Chicago apartment had been planning to attack President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home and other targets, including police stations and squad cars, prosecutors said Saturday. The trio was arrested Wednesday in a nighttime raid in the Bridgeport neighborhood on the South Side. They're accused of trying to make Molotov cocktails ahead of the two-day NATO summit that starts Sunday. The three were charged with providing material support for terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of explosives.

US Special Forces in Yemen 17 May 2012 A group of about 20 U.S. special forces are on the ground in Yemen, helping the government fight insurgents in the south of the country, officials say. Their work includes using high-tech equipment to help the Yemeni military locate targets, the Los Angeles Times reported. The new president US-installed puppet, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadid, is reported to be more willing to work with the United States than his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down after months of protests.

Congressmen Seek to Lift Propaganda Ban --Propaganda that was supposed to target foreigners could now be aimed at Americans, reversing a longstanding policy. 18 May 2012 An amendment that would legalize the use of propaganda on American audiences is being inserted into the latest defense authorization bill, BuzzFeed has learned. The amendment would "strike the current ban on domestic dissemination" of propaganda material produced by the State Department and the Pentagon, according to the summary of the law at the House Rules Committee's official website. The tweak to the bill would essentially neutralize two previous acts—the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and Foreign Relations Authorization Act in 1987--that had been passed to protect U.S. audiences from our own government's misinformation campaigns.

National Guard's $26 million Sponsoring NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt Jr. Results in ZERO Recruits --Wasting Taxpayer Money Subsidizing NASCAR Must Stop 18 May 2012 Today, Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) expressed her outrage and disbelief at the level of waste in the National Guard's recruitment budget. In 2012, the National Guard is spending $26.5 million to sponsor Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s #88 car in NASCAR races for the purposes of recruitment. Over the past five years Earnhardt's racing team has received over $136 million in taxpayer funds from the National Guard - making him the highest paid military contractor in professional sports.

CLG Newsletters Blocked - 18 May 2012 Posted by Lori Price, http://www.legitgov.org/ 18 May 2012 CLG readers, especially AT&T clients: If you do not always receive your CLG Newsletter - or they arrive on an intermittent basis -- it's because the CLG's webhoster's mail server is getting 'greylisted' and blocked. If you did not receive the updates I sent at *5 a.m.* (because that's when I finished working on the myriad of technical problems and obstacles), please write lori at legitgov.org and put 'Friday's Newsletter' in the subject line. I'll then bypass the CLG webhoster's email server, and sent it to you directly. Hopefully, that will work. The subject line of the most recent newsletter was, 'Lawyers Guild claims NATO activists 'disappeared' without warrant or charges.' If you want to subscribe a different email address, you may send an email to signup at legitgov.org and write 'Subscribe' in the subject line. Or, you my subscribe here. Thank you!

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Fukushima Reactor 4 poses massive global risk 19 May 2012 The troubled Reactor 4 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is at the centre of a potential catastrophe. Reactor 4 -- and to a lesser extent Reactor 3 -- still hold large quantities of cooling waters surrounding spent nuclear fuel, all bound by a fragile concrete pool located 30 metres above the ground, and exposed to the elements. A magnitude 7 or 7.5 earthquake would likely fracture that pool, and disaster would ensue, says Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear engineer with Fairewinds Energy Education who has visited the site. The 1,535 spent fuel rods would become exposed to the air and would likely catch fire, with the most-recently added fuel rods igniting first.

'West mulling military action against Iran' 21 May 2012 Some Western countries are still considering a military operation against Iran as an option over its nuclear programme, a Russian minister said Sunday. "Russia is concerned that the possibility to try to solve the Iranian nuclear problem by military means is still viewed as real," Xinhua quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying. "We still hear messages from public and intelligence channels, which show that certain capitals regard this option as much more applicable to the situation (around Iran) than it was before," he said upon his return from the G8 summit in the US.

Tony Blair and George Bush's phone conversation a week before Iraq invasion 'must be released' 21 May 2012 Words that Tony Blair spoke over the phone to George Bush on the eve of the Iraq war are to be made public, a tribunal ordered today. The Foreign Office has been ordered to release parts of the note detailing the conversation on 12 March 2003, a week before the invasion of Iraq began. A panel chaired by tribunal judge Professor John Angel overruled objections from the Foreign Office that publishing any part of the conversation could do "serious damage" to relations with the USA.

Court blocks release of CIA interrogation methods 21 May 2012 CIA secret interrogation methods - including detention and harsh questioning torture of suspected terrorists - remain off limits to public release, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The agency was sued eight years ago to provide details of certain communications describing the use of waterboarding and other direct intelligence-gathering methods of foreign terror suspects. A three-judge panel from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled "intelligence methods" are not subject to a Freedom of Information Act request from the lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. The CIA has admitted as part of the lawsuit it destroyed videotaped interrogations of "high-value" terror suspects Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.

CIA Can Withhold Detainee Torture Photo, Waterboarding Cables 21 May 2012 The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) doesn't have to release a photo of an alleged 'al-Qaida' operative following a session of enhanced interrogation techniques (EIT) torture, reports The Associated Press. The decision is the latest development in an eight-year-old dispute between the CIA and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) over EIT records. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) originally sued the CIA in 2004 to uncover details of secret overseas prisons and interrogation methods.

Federal appeals panel hears CIA leak case in Va. 18 May 2012 The federal government is asking an appeals panel to reverse a ruling that shields a reporter from testifying in the case of an ex-CIA officer charged with leaking classified information about a botched covert operation in Iran. U.S. Department of Justice attorney Robert Parker told the three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday that it should reverse a pretrial ruling by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema that sharply narrowed the scope of reporter James Risen's testimony in the prosecution of Jeffrey Sterling to very narrow issues that didn't require Risen to name his source.

Supreme Court to hear electronic eavesdropping case --Obama administration lawyers appealed to the highest US court on behalf of James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence [Thanks, Obusha!] 21 May 2012 The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a US government challenge to a lawsuit against its electronic surveillance program, which allows authorities to eavesdrop on Americans' overseas phone calls and emails. The court agreed to hear the case Clapper vs. Amnesty International, the Barack Obama administration's petition to the US top court in which it seeks to throw out a suit challenging US government monitoring of Americans' international communications.

2 accused in bomb-making schemes tied to NATO summit 20 May 2012 Two more men have been charged with planning to make explosives to be used during the NATO summit. But authorities said they are not connected to three men in their 20s who were arrested in a Bridgeport raid earlier this week and charged under the state's anti-terror statutes with planning to use Molotov cocktails during the summit. Sebastian Senakiewicz, 24, was arrested Thursday afternoon without incident at his home, according to a police report. Mark Neiweem, 28, was charged with attempted possession of explosive or incendiary devices, prosecutors said.

NORAD intercepts 2 aircraft in restricted airspace during G-8 meeting at Camp David 19 May 2012 Military aircraft have intercepted two small planes in restricted airspace around Camp David, where world leaders are gathering for an economic summit. The North American Aerospace Defense Command says the two Cessna 172 aircraft were out of radio communication on Friday evening inside a 30-mile restricted area around the presidential retreat. The restricted area was expanded temporarily for the Group of Eight talks.

Injuries, arrests in clashes between protesters and police 20 May 2012 A standoff between police and anti-war demonstrators near the NATO summit at McCormick Place left several protesters bloodied and led to dozens of arrests, as delegates gathered for the first of two days of meetings. The confrontation, which flared up late this afternoon near the corner of Michigan Avenue and Cermak Road, lasted for almost two hours, as officers in full riot gear went nose to nose with demonstrators, with police determined to keep the crowd away from the convention center where NATO delegates were meeting.

Afghanistan toll as NATO leaders gather: 13 dead in suicide bombing Saturday; 2 U.S. troops killed Friday 19 May 2012 As NATO leaders prepared for a two-day summit in Chicago to plot their armed forces' 'exit' from Afghanistan in 2014, a suicide bomber on Saturday detonated his explosive vest at a police checkpoint in eastern Khost province, killing 10 civilians, including two children, and three Afghan policemen. The blast, which occurred at Ali Sher district on the border with Pakistan, also wounded five policemen and a child, said a spokesman for Khost governor's office, Baryalai Rawan. In eastern Kunar province, two U.S. soldiers were reportedly killed on Friday when insurgents fired rockets at their base.

U.S. army instructor shot in Yemen attack: security source 20 May 2012 A U.S. military instructor helping train Yemeni coastguards was shot and seriously wounded in an attack by unidentified assailants in the Red Sea city of Hudaida on Sunday, a Yemeni security source said. The source said two other U.S. instructors, who were travelling in the same car, were not hurt in the attack, which happened before noon on the group's journey to work. A caller told Reuters by telephone - not the group's usual method of communication - that the al Qaeda[CIAduh]-linked Ansar al-Sharia group was behind the attack.

Drone Hunting Permit Posted by www.legitgov.org 22 May 2012 [Photo.]

Anonymous hacks Bureau of Justice, leaks 1.7GB of data [Awesome!] 21 May 2012 The hacktivist group Anonymous claims to have leaked 1.7GB of data belonging to the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The file, which has been uploaded as a torrent and posted on The Pirate Bay, reportedly contains internal e-mails as well as the website's "entire database dump."

Hartford School in 'Lock-in' as Bomb Squad Arrives [WHY would students subjected to a  'locked-in' during a bomb threat -- to amplify the injury/death toll during the false flag?] 21 May 2012 A Hartford school was on lock-in as the bomb squad responded to the Old North Cemetery on Main Street to investigate what turned out to be an art project. The bomb squad was called to investigate what was described as a can with wires sticking out. The art project is called "Lighten Up: A Public Art Project," is actually a series of public light-based artworks that museum MATRIX 164 artist Jan Tichy and the Amistad Center for Art & Culture's Teen Advisory Group created together. A police source said the city had approved the art project, but something was lost in communication.

Absentee voting begins for recall election --Most said turnout for absentee voters appeared to be on par with typical November general election 21 May 2012 Absentee voters came to the polls in strong numbers Monday as the first day of early voting started ahead of Wisconsin's June 5 recall. By 8 a.m., voters were already waiting for the Wausau city clerk's office to open. In Madison, a line stretched out the door at lunchtime. In Brookfield, the city clerk's office saw steady traffic throughout the day. Clerks statewide reported much higher absentee turnout Monday than in the spring presidential primary as well as the May 8 recall primary.

JPMorgan Chase Losses Eclipse $30 Billion 21 May 2012 Champion American complainer Jamie Dimon complained on Monday about Wall Street regulation, while also insisting he not be described as a complainer. All the while, his bank's losses, partly resulting from lax regulation, continued to grow. An initial $2 billion trading loss has likely resulted in a total loss of more than $30 billion, when you include a 19 percent drop in the bank's stock price. By itself, the trading loss alone might balloon to more than $6 billion, according to one estimate.

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NATO terrorism defendants kept in 'observation' cells --One of their lawyers says the jail conditions amount to 'sensory deprivation' intended to hamper the defense. 22 May 2012 A spokesman for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart says three anti-NATO protesters accused of terrorism conspiracy have been held around-the-clock since Saturday in white-walled observation cells, where they are isolated from each other and the rest of the inmate population and kept from writing materials, books and all other media. Spokesman Frank Bilecki said Gary Hickerson, acting executive director of the sheriff's Department of Corrections, ordered the observation because the defendants are young and because their charges are serious. Bilecki said the decision had nothing to do with behavior since arrest and that the State's Attorney's office had no input into the confinement conditions.

FBI quietly forms secretive Net-surveillance unit --CNET has learned that the FBI has formed a Domestic Communications Assistance Center, which is tasked with developing new electronic surveillance technologies, including intercepting Internet, wireless, and VoIP communications. 22 May 2012 The FBI has recently formed a secretive surveillance unit with an ambitious goal: to invent technology that will let police more readily eavesdrop on Internet and wireless communications. The establishment of the Quantico, Va.-based unit, which is also staffed by agents from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency, is a response to technological developments that FBI officials believe outpace law enforcement's ability to listen in on private communications.

New York Legislation Would Ban Anonymous Online Speech 22 May 2012 Did you hear the one about the New York state [GOP] lawmakers who forgot about the First Amendment in the name of combating cyberbullying and "baseless political attacks?" Proposed legislation in both chambers would require New York-based websites, such as blogs and newspapers, to "remove any comments posted on his or her website by an anonymous poster unless such anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post." No votes on the measures have been taken.

Anonymous attacks Justice Dept., nabbing 1.7GB of data --In a new hack into the U.S. Department of Justice's Web site, Anonymous claims to have grabbed "lots of shiny things such as internal emails, and the entire database dump." 22 May 2012 In a hack it dubbed "Monday Mail Mayhem," Anonymous claims to have collected and released 1.7GB of data from the U.S. Department of Justice yesterday. "Within the booty you may find lots of shiny things such as internal emails, and the entire database dump," the hacker group wrote on the AnonNews Web site. "We Lulzed as they took the website down after being owned, clearly showing they were scared of what inevitably happened."

UK steps closer to renewing nuclear firepower 22 May 2012 Britain moved a step closer to renewing its Trident nuclear weapons system on Tuesday, awarding 350 million pounds worth of contracts to design a new generation of submarines that critics say are the result of outdated, Cold War thinking. The Successor class submarine would be used to replace the four Vanguard class vessels currently carrying Britain's Trident nuclear missiles, but a debate has raged about whether like-for-like renewal at an estimated cost of up to 20 billion pounds ($31.5 billion) is necessary.

Secret Central Bank Aid Props Up Greek Banks 21 May 2012 There has been no official announcement. No terms or conditions have been disclosed. But Greece's banking system is being propped up by an estimated €100 billion or so of emergency liquidity provided by the country's central bank - approved secretly by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. If Greece were to leave the eurozone, the immediate cause might be an ECB decision to pull the plug.

Bain and Financial Industry Gave Over $565,000 to Newark Mayor Cory Booker For 2002 Campaign 21 May 2012 Yesterday, Newark, New Jersey Mayor [Wall Street wh*re] Cory Booker (D) attacked the Obama campaign for making an issue of Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain Capital during an appearance on Meet the Press... A ThinkProgress examination of New Jersey campaign finance records for Booker's first run for Mayor - back in 2002 - suggests a possible reason for his unease with attacks on Bain Capital and venture capital. They were among his earliest and most generous backers. Contributions to his 2002 campaign from venture capitalists, investors, and big Wall Street bankers brought him more than $115,000 for his 2002 campaign.

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Mission accomplished! Iraq acquiring drones from US to guard oil installations 21 May 2012 Iraq is acquiring unmanned surveillance drones from the United States as part of efforts to boost bilateral relations and also to beef up security of its oil installations and energy fuel exports amid growing tensions in the region. The US drones will help to protect the southern oilfield around Basra, which have become vulnerable after the withdrawal of the last American troops, U.S. and Iraqi officials said on Monday. "Iraq's navy has purchased U.S. drones to protect the country's oil platforms in the south, from where most of Iraq's oil is shipped," said an official from the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq, reported Reuters. [See: Drone Hunting Permit.]

Alarm Over Arming of Domestic Drones 23 May 2012 With the use of domestic drones increasing, concern has not just come up over privacy issues, but also over the potential use of lethal force by the unmanned aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration has allowed several police departments to use drones across the U.S. They are controlled from a remote location and use infrared sensors and high-resolution cameras. Chief Deputy Randy McDaniel of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office in Texas told The Daily that his department is considering using rubber bullets and tear gas on its drone. The use of potential force from drones has raised the ire of the American Civil Liberties Union.

NORAD, Northcom launch joint cyber division 22 May 2012 A new cyber division, jointly managed by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command's (Northcom) Operations Division, is up and running after approval by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta earlier this month. The U.S. Northern Command Joint Cyber Center (JCC) has three main missions: improving cyber domain situational awareness, improving the defense of the commands' networks, and providing cyber consequence response and recovery support to civil authorities upon request, according to an announcement from the joint center. [Anonymous, get busy.]

Hillary Clinton confirms US cyber attack on Yemeni websites --US Centre for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications experts patrol the internet and social media. 25 May 2012 US cyber experts hacked Yemeni websites, replacing al-Qa'ida al-CIAduh propaganda that bragged about killing Americans, Hillary Clinton confirmed yesterday. In a rare public admission of the covert cyber war against extremists, the US Secretary of State said cyber experts based at the State Department hacked Yemeni tribal websites. Mrs Clinton said the cyber attack was launched by an interagency group of specialists, including diplomats, special operators and intelligence analysts, housed at the State Department.

Food Fight: Contractor Accused of $750 Million Overcharge for Wartime Grub 24 May 2012 In 2008, the Pentagon began investigating whether the main supplier of food to troops in Afghanistan overcharged taxpayers. Since then, there have been audits, recriminations and the discovery that the supplier may have overbilled the military as much as $756.9 million... The congressmen want documents and information within 10 days from both the Pentagon's Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and the Switzerland-based company, Supreme Foodservice GmbH. This might be difficult, because the Pentagon has alleged Supreme Foodservice - which has been paid $5.5 billion since 2005 [under unelected dictator, George W. Sociopath - so forget about Faux News ever mentioning it] to supply food to more than 250 bases and outposts - did not maintain invoices and truck manifests while transporting food, water and other materiel; nor did the company provide data to investigators on fuel costs, price estimates and even correct flight plans. [Oh. I thought there was a deficit and we have to cut 'entitlements?']

Senate panel backs $631 billion in defense spending 24 May 2012 A Senate panel voted on Thursday to authorize $631.4 billion in defense spending for the 2013 fiscal year, blocking plans to cut the Air Force and ordering offsetting reductions in Pentagon civilian personnel to stay within the president's budget limits. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved a defense policy bill that would authorize a base Pentagon budget of $525.8 billion along with $88.2 billion for the Afghanistan war and other overseas operations. The panel also authorized $17.3 billion for Energy Department nuclear weapons programs.

China fake parts 'used in US military equipment' 21 May 2012 Vast numbers of counterfeit Chinese electronic parts are being used in US military equipment, a key Senate committee has reported. A year-long probe found 1,800 cases of fake parts in US military aircraft, the Senate Armed Services Committee said. More than 70% of an estimated one million suspect parts were traced back to China, the report said. It highlighted suspect counterfeit parts in SH-60B helicopters used by the Navy, in C-130J and C-27J cargo planes and in the Navy's P-8A Poseidon plane.

9/11 truther leading Egyptian presidential race 21 May 2012 An Islamist who believes that the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States were an American conspiracy [which, of course, it was] is the front-runner in Egypt's presidential race, a new poll shows. Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh, formerly a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, led the field of 13 candidates with 32 percent of the vote in a survey released Monday by the Washington-based Brookings Institution. Mr. Abolfotoh expressed his views on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in an interview last year with Egypt scholar Eric Trager.

Drone Kills 4 in Pakistan Amid Tension With US 23 May 2012 A U.S. drone fired two missiles at a compound in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, killing four 'suspected militants' in an attack that comes as Washington is running out of patience with Islamabad's refusal to reopen supply routes for NATO troops in Afghanistan. U.S. drone strikes have complicated negotiations over the routes, which Pakistan closed six months ago in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghan border. Pakistan's parliament demanded the strikes stop in the wake of the attack, but the U.S. has refused.

Memo: Afghan 'Burn Pit' Could Wreck Hearts, Lungs 22 May 2012 An 8-year assessment of the air quality at one of the largest military bases in Afghanistan reveals that servicemembers' and civilians' exposure to air contaminants from the "burn pits," used for disposing of trash, could pose long-term respiratory problems, according to an Army memo. "The long term health risk associated with air conditions on BAF... indicates there is a potential that long-term exposure at these levels may increase the risk for developing chronic health conditions such as reduced lung function or exacerbated chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, atherosclerosis, or other cardiopulmonary diseases," reads a portion of the one-page memo, dated April 15, 2011, obtained by Danger Room and posted to its website.

Combat 'Burn Pits' Ruin Immune Systems, Study Shows 23 May 2012 Since returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, an untold number of soldiers have come down with puzzling health problems. Chronic bronchitis. Neurological defects. Even cancer. Many of them are pointing the finger at a single culprit: The open-air "burn pits" that incinerated trash - from human waste to computer parts - on military bases overseas. Pentagon officials have consistently reassured personnel that there was no "specific evidence" connecting the two. But now, only days after Danger Room uncovered a memo suggesting that Army officials knew how dangerous the pits were, an animal study is offering up new scientific evidence that links burn pits to depleted immune systems.

Bradley Manning military trial: group petitions for a more open court --Coalition says WikiLeaks suspect's trial is being conducted amid far more secrecy than the alleged 9/11 plotters in Guantanamo 24 May 2012 The military trial of the WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning is being conducted amid far more secrecy than even the prosecution of the alleged 9/11 plotters in Guantanamo, a coalition of lawyers and media outlets protest. Led by the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, the coalition has petitioned the Army court of criminal appeals calling for the court-martial against Manning to be opened up to the press and public. The group complains that the way the trial is being handled by the trial judge Colonel Denise Lind is a violation of the First Amendment of the constitution that requires public access unless the government can specifically demonstrate the need for secrecy.

GI seeks dismissal of 10 counts in WikiLeaks case 24 May 2012 An Army private charged in the biggest leak of government secrets in U.S. history is seeking dismissal of 10 of the 22 counts he faces, contending they are either unconstitutionally vague or fail to state a prosecutable offense. Pfc. Bradley Manning's civilian defense attorney, David Coombs, posted the documents late Wednesday on his website. A military judge will consider the motions at a pre-trial hearing June 6-8 at Fort Meade near Baltimore. Manning, a 24-year-old Crescent, Okla., native, faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy.

Russia tests new missile, in warning over U.S. shield 23 May 2012 Russia tested a new long-range missile on Wednesday that should improve its ability to penetrate missile defense systems, the military said, in Moscow's latest warning to Washington over deployment of a missile shield in Europe. The Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) was successfully launched from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia and its dummy warhead landed on target on the Kamchatka peninsula on the Pacific coast, the Defense Ministry said. Russia opposes a missile shield the United States and NATO are deploying in Europe, saying it will be able to intercept Russian warheads by about 2018, weakening Moscow's nuclear arsenal and upsetting the post-Cold War balance of power.

7 hurt fighting fire on nuclear submarine; cause of blaze unknown 24 May 2012 Seven people were injured while fighting a blaze aboard a nuclear-powered submarine being overhauled at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine, Navy officials said Thursday. The fire aboard the USS Miami SSN 755 began at 5:41 p.m. Wednesday and was declared out at 6:45 a.m. Thursday, a base spokeswoman said by telephone. The cause of the fire is under investigation, she said. The reactor was unaffected by the fire and has been shut down for months.

HAARP is a busy little bee! 6.1 earthquake strikes northeastern Japan 24 May 2012 An earthquake with a 6.1 magnitude rating on the Richter scale occurred in northeastern Japan late Wednesday. Local news is saying that Aomori Prefecture felt most of the trembler effects. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the 6.1 quake originated from roughly 107 kilometers (66 miles) northeast of Hachinoche, on the island of Honshu, and 119 kilometers (74 miles) southeast of Hakodate, on Hokkaido. Currently, there are no reports of serious damage or injuries in the area, and all nearby nuclear power plants have reported no impairment or irregularities. On March 11th, 2011, Japan's northeastern Tohoku region was destroyed by an earthquake of magnitude 9.0, and the resulting tsunami.

Catastrophic nuclear reactor meltdowns like Fukushima could happen every ten to 20 years, scientists warn --German scientists say meltdown could happen 200 times more often than previously calculated --Researchers call for international phasing out of nuclear energy 24 May 2012 Devastating nuclear reactor meltdowns like those at Chernobyl and Fukushima could happen every decade, according to a disturbing new study. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, fear similar catastrophes could occur around the world every ten to 20 years - 200 times more frequently than previously thought. And they said people in Western Europe have a higher risk than anybody else in the world of being affected by radioactive fallout from such a disaster.

Fukushima's estimated radiation leak doubles versus government 24 May 2012 Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant may have released twice as many radioactive particles than Japan's government estimated, the utility said in a report today. The Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant may have emitted about 900,000 terabecquerels of the iodine equivalent of radioactive iodine 131 and cesium 137 into the air at the height of the disaster, the utility known as Tepco said today in a statement. The amount is about 2 times more than the 480,000 terabecquerels estimated in February by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency or NISA, the utility said.

Japanese infants face high risk of thyroid cancer following Fukushima disaster 24 May 2012 In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, infants in one town appear to be at a higher risk of developing thyroid cancer, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. [Just one?] In a preliminary report, independent experts said that people in two locations in Fukushima prefecture may have received a radiation dose of 10-50 millisieverts (mSv) in the year after the accident at the power station operated by Tepco. Separately on Wednesday, a UN scientific body said that several Tepco-related workers were "irradiated after contamination of their skin," but that no clinically observable health effects had been reported.

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station shut down --Entergy: Plant will remain shut until investigators figure out what happened 23 May 2012 (MA) Officials say the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth has been shut down after a malfunction in a machine that cools the steam the reactor produces and converts it into water. Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said a condenser at the plant lost its vacuum pressure. He tells The Boston Globe that the condenser operates in a vacuum to maximize efficiency. Officials said the incident happened at about 1:10 p.m. Tuesday, when the plant was operating at about 30 percent capacity.

Hunt for non-citizen Florida voters exposes partisan divide 23 May 2012 Hispanic, Democratic and independent-minded voters are the most likely to be targeted in a state hunt to remove thousands of noncitizens from Florida's voting rolls, a Miami Herald computer analysis of elections records has found. Whites and Republicans are disproportionately the least-likely to face the threat of removal, the analysis of a list of more than 2,600 potential noncitizens shows. The list was first compiled by the state and furnished to county election supervisors and then The Herald.

Bank profits at highest level since 2007: FDIC [Thanks, Obusha!] 24 May 2012 Bank profits rose in the first quarter of 2012, reaching their highest quarterly levels since the second quarter of 2007, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s quarterly banking report, released Thursday. Bank net income for the first quarter of 2012 was $35.3 billion, up by $6.6 billion from the first quarter of 2011.

Lemurs just as excited over yesterday's eclipse 22 May 2012 By now you've already dozens of pictures of yesterday's annular eclipse and read all about how everyone in Japan had their eyes to skies at 7:30 in the morning. But it wasn't just humans who were excited over the event that only occurs once in more than one hundred years. While those of us here in Nagoya didn't get to see much other than a typical gray, overcast morning, the ring-tailed lemurs at the Japan Monkey Center here in Aichi prefecture enjoyed the eclipse to a fuller extent. A zoo official stated in the afternoon that the group of around 20 lemurs went into a frenzy during the eclipse as they believed it was nighttime.

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It's the Obusha Friday-Evening-Entering-A-Holiday-Weekend Civil Liberties Bad News Dump: U.S. asks judge to undo ruling against military detention law 25 May 2012 Federal prosecutors on Friday urged a judge to lift her order barring enforcement of part of a new law that permits indefinite military detention [of US citizens]. Manhattan federal court Judge Katherine Forrest this month ruled in favor of activists and reporters who said they feared being detained under a section of the law, signed by President Barack Obama in December. The judge's preliminary injunction bars the government from enforcing section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act's "Homeland Battlefield" provisions. The section authorizes indefinite military detention for those deemed to have "substantially supported" al Qaeda [al-CIAduh], the Taliban or "associated forces."

U.S. sailor is 3,000th Afghanistan war death 25 May 2012 A U.S. sailor who died last week of medical complications was the 3,000th death among coalition forces in the Afghanistan war, according to CNN's count based on information provided by the U.S. Defense Department and the International Security Assistance Force. Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan J. Wilson, 26, of Shasta, California, died May 20 in Manama, Bahrain, the Defense Department reported in an e-mail sent Friday. Wilson, assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain, was supporting the Afghanistan mission, the e-mail said.

Propaganda firm owner admits attacks on journalists 25 May 2012 The co-owner of a major Pentagon propaganda contractor publicly admitted Thursday that he was behind a series of websites used in an attempt to discredit two USA TODAY journalists who had reported on the contractor. The online "misinformation campaign," first reported last month, has raised questions about whether the Pentagon or its contractors had turned its propaganda operations against U.S. citizens. But Camille Chidiac, the minority owner of Leonie Industries and its former president, said he was responsible for the online activity and was operating independently of the company and the Pentagon.

Did Sabu Burn Assange Through Anonymous-LulzSec? Flier sent by publisher with the review book emphasizing the LulzSec and WikiLeaks discussions. (cryptome.org) 25 May 2012 The following passage is from 'We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency' by Parmy Olson. 'Also in the IRC channel with Topiary and q was Sabu, now likely with very interested FBI agents monitoring the discussion... It is unclear if Sabu was in reality haunted by the fact that he was now also helping to implicate Assange... Another possibility: the FBI was encouraging Sabu to reach out to Assange to help gather evidence on one of the most notorious offenders of classified government data in recent times. It seems probable that if Sabu had helped, for instance, extradite Assange to the United States, it would have improved his settlement dramatically.'

70 reports of police misconduct on Sunday at NATO protest, says National Lawyers Guild 23 May 2012 What is the legacy of the massive Sunday protest that brought out an estimated 15,000 people? One lasting effect, on both the city and the protesters, is how the Chicago Police Department behaved over the much-hyped weekend. According to Sarah Gelsomino with the National Lawyers Guild and the People's Law Office, the NLG received 70 separate claims of police misconduct from Sunday's events. "The majority of those incidences are baton strikes to the head and face," said Gelsomino. "We saw broken collar bones, broken arms, teeth knocked out, heads bashed in, lips busted and a numbers of concussions."

US eases airport screening for travelers 75-plus 25 May 2012 The US government is easing the airport screening process for travelers 75 and older, beginning to roll out new rules just in time for the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, an official said Friday. From this weekend the elderly will no longer have to doff shoes, belts and jackets as they pass through security checkpoints at New York's three major airports: John F. Kennedy International, La Guardia, and Newark Liberty. The Transportation Security Administration has said rollout of the new measures to the rest of the country could follow.

Japan Nuclear Operator Conducts Check on Risky Unit 25 May 2012 The operator of Japan's stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant said it took extra steps this week to check the soundness of one of its riskiest reactor buildings, in response to growing public unease over the possibility of further accidents at the facility. The investigation-the first of its kind to take place at Fukushima Daiichi since three reactors spun out of control 14 months ago-also underscores how unclear conditions at the plant remain, and how deep the distrust in Japan's nuclear industry runs. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday that it conducted its first on-the-ground look at the condition of Fukushima Daiichi's Unit 4 reactor building, which houses in a pool of water at its top what is seen as the most hazardous collection of fuel rods in the plant.

Legislation may enable states to offer universal healthcare 25 May 2012 Legislation quietly being drafted by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) would create a mechanism for states to request federal funds after establishing their own health insurance programs. If passed into law - admittedly a long shot with Republicans controlling the House of Representatives - McDermott's State-Based Universal Healthcare Act would represent a game changer for medical coverage in the United States. It would, for the first time, create a system under which a Medicare-for-all program could be rolled out on a state-by-state basis. In California's case, it would make coverage available to the roughly 7 million people now lacking health insurance.

Judge strikes down Defense of Marriage Act provision in California employees' case 25 May 2012 A federal judge ruled Thursday that the state's public-employee pension system must make long-term care insurance equally available to same-sex spouses and partners. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken said a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is unconstitutional to the extent that it limits same-sex spouses of state workers in obtaining the insurance. The provision of the 1996 DOMA law defines marriage as "a legal union of a one man and one woman as husband and wife."

CLG needs your support.
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Or, please mail a check or money order to CLG:
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