Breaking News and Commentary from CLG - 16 Dec 2011

14 Dec 2011

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Cyber war on US drones? Another spy craft crash, now in Seychelles 14 Dec 2011 With America still scrambling to explain why and how they lost a drone aircraft over Iran last week [LOL], the Pentagon is trying to make sense of how another high-tech unmanned spy craft crashed Tuesday morning in the Seychelles. For the second time in two weeks, US authorities lost contact with a drone aircraft, this time resulting in a fiery crash in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. Officials at the US embassy in Mauritius confirmed the crash on Tuesday morning, revealing that an MQ-9, or "Reaper" drone, had landed at Seychelles International Airport, citing mechanical issues. ['Mechanical issues?' *Hopefully,* Anonymous was the busy little cyber warrior bee!]

Air Force investigating cause of drone crash in Seychelles 13 Dec 2011 The U.S. military is investigating what caused a U.S. military drone [remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper] to crash near a civilian airport runway in the Republic of Seychelles, a U.S. Air Forces in Europe spokesman said Wednesday. The United States has possession of the aircraft debris, Maj. Rickardo Bodden, a USAFE spokesman, said in an email. The U.S. military and Civil Aviation Authority of the Seychelles coordinated the removal of the debris following Tuesday's crash at the Seychelles International Airport on the island of Mahe, according to Bodden.

White House Lifts Veto Threat of Defense Bill --Bill allows indefinite detention without trial of US citizens 14 Dec 2011 The White House lifted a veto threat of the defense authorization bill, staving off a potential showdown with Congress on the issue of detainees. The House is scheduled to vote on the measure today, and the Senate is expected to act by the end of the week. Late this afternoon, House Republicans were meeting to round up the last votes needed to approve the bill. Human-rights organizations remain opposed to the measure because it would allow for the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects, including Americans, without a trial.

Pentagon spending bill includes sweeping detention measures 13 Dec 2011 Even American citizens arrested in the United States could face perpetual detention in military prisons without charge or trial under draconian new presidential powers unless Barack Obama vetoes a massive Pentagon spending bill. The sweeping new "antiterrorist" measures could also ensnare Canadians or other foreigners picked up in the United States or overseas. For instance, U.S. agents tipped off by their Canadian counterparts as part of new intelligence-sharing pacts could detain a Canadian, ship him to Guantanamo and imprison him there forever.

Chains we can believe in: Bagram jail detainee unlawfully held, court rules --Appeal court tells British ministers to ask US to end Yunus Rahmatullah's seven-year ordeal at notorious Afghan prison 14 Dec 2011 The government has been ordered by three senior judges to secure the release of a Pakistani man captured by British special forces and held by the US in Afghanistan's notorious Bagram jail without trial for more than seven years. The judges ruled that Yunus Rahmatullah, 29, who was handed over by the SAS to American forces in Iraq in 2004 and then taken to Bagram, is being unlawfully detained. They ordered a writ of habeas corpus to be issued so he can be freed.

Blackwater mercenaries to return to Iraq 12 Dec 2011 With the US pulling out troops from Iraq this month, Washington plans to send Blackwater mercenaries to the Middle Eastern country under the new brand of ACADEMI. New York-based USTC Holdings, the investment group that bought ex-Blackwater firm, Xe Services, in December 2010, announced on Monday ACADEMI as the new name for Blackwater/ Xe Services, AFP reported. The deployment of ACADEMI mercenaries is likely to cause outrage in Iraq where its predecessor Blackwater Worldwide mercenaries could kill civilians with impunity during their time in Iraq.

Hundreds in Fallujah burn U.S. flag to celebrate troops pulling out of Iraq [Bright, but Blackwater terrorists remain, en masse. That issue needs to be addressed.] 14 Dec 2011 Hundreds of Iraqis set alight U.S. and Israeli flags on Wednesday as they celebrated the impending pullout of American forces from the country in the former insurgent bastion of Fallujah. Shouting slogans in support of the "resistance," the demonstrators held up banners and placards inscribed with phrases like, "Now we are free" and "Fallujah is the flame of the resistance." Surrounded by the Iraqi army, demonstrators carried posters bearing photos of apparent insurgents, faces covered and carrying weapons.

Israeli army base attacked by right-wing extremists --Revealing the broad scope in defining terrorism, Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai described the incident as Jewish terrorism, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the 'activists' as 'rioters'. 14 Dec 2011 Israeli officials say around 50 right-wing Israeli extremists have infiltrated and attacked an Israeli military base in the West Bank in an act described as Jewish terrorism. The militants breached the base's perimeter and damaged property, set tires on fire, threw stones and damaged vehicles, according to a statement released by the Israeli Defence Force. The West Bank base is the Ephraim Regional Division Headquarters and the extremists also reportedly tried to attack the commander of the area, Colonel Ran Kahana, by throwing stones at his vehicle.

Fukushima: Reactor 4 is falling apart By Mochizuki 12 Dec 2011 The wall of the south side is falling apart at reactor 4. Reactor 4 is in the most serious situation. It is assumed that if another aftershock hits it to drop the spent fuel pool hung in the building, the entire area in eastern Japan would be too contaminated to be inhabitable. On 12/2/2011 (JST), something like "fire" was observed beside reactor 4. Since then, a strong light has been set toward Fukuichi camera as if it was hiding something by white-out. However, thanks to JNN Fukushima live camera, it was confirmed that the wall of reactor 4 was lost on the south side. At least since 12/5/2011, the wall is missing.

Japanese to fit 1,000 monkeys with Geiger counters to test radiation levels in Fukushima --Monkeys set to wear the devices for decades --'We will get a better idea of how radiation is spread by rain, plants and rivers', say researchers 13 Dec 2011 Japanese researchers have enlisted wild monkeys to test radiation levels in forests near the devastated Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant. The primates will be fitted with radiation metres and GPS transmitters to track the levels and spread of the leaked radioactive emissions. Professor Takayuki Takahashi from Fukushima University and his team of scientists are using almost 1,000 monkeys in the monitoring project. The latest project is set to enlist a range of Minamisoma's 14 species of monkeys throughout its forests to get a broad spectrum of readings.

In Unprecedented Move, Canada Withdraws from Kyoto Protocol 14 Dec 2011 Barely 24 hours after it signed a new global climate change agreement in Durban, South Africa, Canada became on Monday the first country to formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding treaty to reduce emissions causing climate change. The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) concluded last Sunday with an agreement called the Durban Platform, which includes a consensus agreement for a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol after the first expires at the end of 2012. Canada's government under Stephen Harper essentially agreed to a continuation of Kyoto only to announce formal withdrawal after Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent arrived back safely in Canada on Monday.

Ontario polar bears doomed, expert says 13 Dec 2011 Say goodbye to Ontario's polar bears. Warmer weather will likely make it impossible for the iconic bears to survive on the shores of Hudson's Bay in Ontario and Manitoba in 20 to 30 years, says the world's best-known polar bear expert. The warning should not be taken lightly, considering Ian Stirling has studied polar bears as a biologist and adjunct University of Alberta professor for 41 years - longer than anyone else in the field. "It's not speculation," Stirling said in an interview Tuesday. "By the middle of the century, we're likely to have lost two thirds of the world's polar bears."

Wikipedia Mulls Total Blackout to Oppose SOPA 12 Dec 2011 Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales wants to blank out all pages of the online encyclopedia to oppose the pending SOPA anti-piracy bill in the US. Wales, who has asked the Wikipedia community for input on the idea, fears the bill could seriously hurt the Internet and thinks that blanking out Wikipedia will send a strong message to lawmakers. Later this week, the Senate's House Judiciary Committee will vote on the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA).

Suspicious package at Credit Suisse in New York 14 Dec 2011 Parts of the Credit Suisse headquarters in New York City were evacuated on Wednesday due to a suspicious package, police said. "We have a report of a suspicious package in the building so we're investigating. We are evacuating at least part of (the building)," a police spokesman said.

Democratic surrendering sociopaths alert: AP Sources: Dem lawmakers may drop millionaire tax 14 Dec 2011 DemocRATic lawmakers are considering whether to jettison their demand for a millionaires' surtax, which they had hoped to use to cover the cost of a Social Security payroll tax cut extension for millions of wage-earners, officials said Wednesday. If party leaders go ahead, it would mark a(nother) concession to Republicans in the year-end standoff over the tax cut extension that President Barack Obama requested and leaders in both parties say they want. The disclosure came as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other leading Democrats went to the White House to meet with Obama. [LOL, *of course!*]

GOP psycho alert: GOP threatens to delay Senate bus, truck safety bill 14 Dec 2011 Senate Republicans Wednesday threatened to delay bus and truck safety legislation after an "eleventh hour" addition to the measure by Commerce Committee Democrats. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Whackjob-Texas) and other Republicans are angry that a national freight policy bill was tacked on to the safety measure without notice Friday. Hutchison said it means Republicans will hold up the bill on the floor. The panel also rejected on a party line vote an amendment from Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) to slash more than $50 million in annual spending from the bus and safety bill.

Obama and I *finally* agree on something: Obama a fan of Showtime's 'Homeland' 14 Dec 2011 President Barack Obama says he's a fan of two popular cable TV shows: HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" and Showtime's "Homeland." The president said, "I'm a little darker," telling the magazine that he enjoys "Boardwalk Empire," a drama depicting Prohibition-era Atlantic City, and "Homeland," a psychological thriller about a CIA officer trying to unravel a suspected terrorist plot.

ENDS

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