Citizens for Legitimate Government: 18 June 2013

U.S. says it will buy Russian helicopters for Afghan military 17 Jun 2013 The Pentagon said on Monday it will spend $572 million to buy 30 Russian-built military helicopters that will be used by Afghan security forces. The Mi-17 helicopters will be used by Afghanistan's National Security Forces Special Mission Wing, which supports counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics and special operations missions. The contract with Rosoboronexport, the Russian arms company, covers spare parts, test equipment and engineering support. The Pentagon said the work would be performed in Russia. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2014. [Obviously, this is a payoff for Russia's compliance with the US arming of 'rebels' after the US sent the chemical weapons to be used there. --MDR]

U.S. 'backed plan to launch chemical weapon attack on Syria and blame it on Assad' --Leaked emails from defense contractor refers to chemical weapons saying 'the idea is approved by Washington' 29 Jan 2013 Leaked emails have allegedly proved that the White House gave the green light to a chemical weapons attack in Syria that could be blamed on Assad's government and in turn, spur international military action in the devastated country. A report released on Monday contains an email exchange between two senior officials at British-based contractor Britam Defence where a scheme 'approved by Washington' is outlined explaining that Qatar would fund rebel forces in Syria to use chemical weapons.

Britam Defence leaked email: 'Syrian Issue' Posted by Lori Price, www.legitgov.org 18 Jun 2013 The hacked Britam Defence email called 'Syrian Issue' from 24 Dec 2012 can be viewed here including email headers (.docx) and here (.jpg).

Boris Johnson: Don't arm the Syria maniacs 16 Jun 2013 Boris Johnson warns that arming the Syrian rebels would be disastrous, adding to tough warnings from Vladimir Putin, the Archbishop of York and an ex-Army leader. Arming the Syrian rebels would be disastrous because Britain would be "pressing weapons into the hands of maniacs", says Boris Johnson. The Mayor of London warns David Cameron that the UK must not use Syria as an "arena for muscle-flexing" and says that any weapons sent to the country's opposition could end up in the hands of al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh]. His comments come after several leading figures opposed any move by Mr Cameron to join President Barack Obama in providing greater assistance to the forces fighting Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian leader. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, whose nation provides arms to the Assad government, criticised the Prime Minister for considering arming rebels who "eat the organs" of their enemies.

Kabul blast ahead of Afghanistan security handover 18 Jun 2013 A suicide attacker is believed to have targeted a prominent Afghan politician just as Nato formally hands over command of security responsibilities to Afghan forces. The bomb struck the convoy of Haji Mohammad Mohaqeq, the country's second vice-president and a leader of the Hazara ethnic minority, in west Kabul. Mr Mohaqeq was reportedly unhurt, but three people were killed and six injured.

US government identifies men on Guantánamo 'indefinite detainee' list 17 Jun 2013 The US government has finally released the names of 46 men being held in Guantánamo under the classification of "indefinite detainees" -- terror suspects deemed too dangerous to release or move yet impossible to try in a civilian or even military court for reasons of inadequate or tainted [aka illegally obtained via torture] evidence. The list of the 46 detainees prisoners was released to the Miami Herald and New York Times following a freedom of information requests from the papers as part of the list of the 166 current captives in Guantánamo that has been released for the first time. The list contains, according to the Miami Herald, 26 Yemenis, 12 Afghans, three Saudis, two Kuwaitis and Libyans, a Kenyan, Moroccan and a Somali. There were two "indefinite detainees", both Afghans, who have died in the camp, one [allegedly] by suicide, one [allegedly] of a heart attack.

Feds won't budge on public access to drone legal memos [Just hack them - problem solved.] 17 Jun 2013 The public has no right to examine classified Justice Department legal opinions on the so-called "targeted killing" of Americans and foreigners, even though President Barack Obama recently acknowledged that the U.S. used drones to kill alleged 'Al Qaeda' operative Anwar Al-Awlaki, the Obama Administration argued in a legal brief filed Friday. The brief argues that the official declassification, which also included the acknowledgement that three other American citizens have died in such operations outside active combat zones, "should not affect (or be relevant to)" the appeals court's review of a district court judge's ruling that legal memoranda sought by the New York Times and the ACLU were exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

GCHQ intercepted foreign politicians' communications at G20 summits 16 Jun 2013 Foreign politicians and officials who took part in two G20 summit meetings in London in 2009 had their computers monitored and their phone calls intercepted on the instructions of their British government hosts, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Some delegates were tricked into using internet cafes which had been set up by British intelligence agencies to read their email traffic. The revelation comes as Britain prepares to host another summit on Monday -- for the G8 nations, all of whom attended the 2009 meetings which were the object of the systematic spying. Named targets include long-standing allies such as South Africa and Turkey.

Edward Snowden calls U.S. intelligence 'aggressively criminal' 17 Jun 2013 Edward Snowden, the former U.S. government contractor who leaked secret details of official surveillance programs, pledged Monday to release more information about U.S. intelligence-gathering methods that he described as "nakedly, aggressively criminal." "All I can say right now is the U.S. government is not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me," Snowden wrote in an online chat hosted by Britain's Guardian newspaper. "Truth is coming, and it cannot be stopped." Writing from an undisclosed location believed to be in Hong Kong, the former CIA and National Security Agency systems administrator vigorously defended his disclosures about the breadth of U.S. surveillance, including programs that sweep up data about Americans' telephone calls, emails and Internet use.

Snowden says he cannot get a fair trial on NSA leaks in U.S. 17 Jun 2013 The former National Security Agency contractor who revealed the government's top-secret phone and Internet surveillance programs said in an online forum on Monday that he did not expect to get a fair trial in the United States. In a question-and-answer session with readers on the website of Britain's Guardian newspaper, Snowden said his disappointment with President Barack Obama helped spur his decision to reveal the monitoring of Americans' phone and Internet data kept by big companies such as Google Inc and Facebook Inc.

Edward Snowden Q&A: Dick Cheney traitor charge is 'the highest honor' --The whistleblower behind the biggest intelligence leak in NSA history answered your questions about the NSA surveillance revelations 17 Jun 2013 Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old former NSA contractor and source of the Guardian's NSA files coverage will, with the help of Glenn Greenwald, take your questions today on why he revealed the NSA's top-secret surveillance of US citizens, the international storm that has ensued, and the uncertain future he now faces. Snowden, who has fled the US, told the Guardian he "does not expect to see home again", but where he'll end up has yet to be determined.

State photo-ID databases become troves for police --The most widely used systems were honed on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq as soldiers sought to identify insurgents. 16 Jun 2013 The faces of more than 120 million people are in searchable photo databases that state officials assembled to prevent driver's-license fraud but that increasingly are used by police to identify suspects, accomplices and even innocent bystanders in a wide range of criminal investigations. The facial databases have grown rapidly in recent years and generally operate with few legal safeguards beyond the requirement that searches are conducted for "law enforcement purposes." Amid rising concern about the National Security Agency's high-tech surveillance aimed at foreigners, it is these state-level facial-recognition programs that more typically involve American citizens.

Supreme Court says pre-Miranda silence can be used by prosecutors in court 17 Jun 2013 The Supreme Court says prosecutors can use a person's silence against them if it comes before he’s told of his right to remain silent. The 5-4 ruling comes in the case of Genovevo Salinas, who was convicted of a 1992 murder... The court decision was down its conservative/liberal split, with Alito's judgment joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia.

Heads up! NORAD Exercise Planned for National Capital Region 17 Jun 2013 The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and its geographical component, the Continental United States NORAD Region (CONR), will conduct exercise Falcon Virgo 13-09, between 11:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 18 and 5:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday, June 19, in the National Capital Region, Washington, D.C. The exercise is comprised of a series of training flights held in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Capital Region Coordination Center, the Joint Air Defense Operations Center (JADOC), Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard and CONR's Eastern Air Defense Sector. Exercise Falcon Virgo is designed to hone NORAD's intercept and identification operations as well as operationally test the NCR Visual Warning System and certify newly assigned command and control personnel at JADOC.

Plane carrying George W. Bush diverted after smell of smoke 16 Jun 2013 A plane carrying former President [sic] George W. Bush was diverted to Louisville on Saturday night after the pilot reported the smell of smoke. The Gulfstream IV aircraft was traveling from Philadelphia International to Dallas Love Field airports when the pilot reported the smell of smoke in the cockpit, said Holly Baker, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Flu fascism: Novant Health makes flu vaccine mandatory for employees 14 Jun 2013 Novant Health Inc. has made the [mercury-laden, squalene-filled] flu vaccine mandatory for its 25,000 employees this year, joining Triad health systems such as Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Cone Health in making the move. This is the first time the Winston-Salem-based health-care system has taken that step. The mandate also applies to those who volunteer, do contract work, students or others who provide services at any Novant facility.

Supreme Court hits drug companies' profit-sharing deals 17 Jun 2013 Profit-sharing deals between brand-name and generic drug companies that preserve patents and prevent competition can be challenged as anti-competitive, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The verdict was a victory for the federal government, which had contended that arrangements keeping generic drugs off the market benefited companies at the expense of consumers. But the court, in a 5-3 decision written by Justice Stephen Breyer, did not automatically strike down such deals between drug companies. It ruled that the government must apply a "rule of reason" and challenge each deal individually.

Supreme Court says states may not add citizenship proof for voting 17 Jun 2013 States may not require additional proof of citizenship on federal forms designed to streamline voter-registration procedures, [aka suppress voter turnout] the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The court rejected a requirement passed by Arizona voters in 2004 that potential voters supply proof of eligibility beyond an applicant's oath on the federal form that he or she is a citizen. The court ruled 7 to 2 that the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 trumps Arizona's Proposition 200. The federal law "precludes Arizona from requiring a federal form applicant to submit information beyond that required by the form itself," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority.

Supreme Court Strikes Down Arizona Voter ID Law 17 Jun 2013 Would-be voters in Arizona will not need to provide proof of citizenship before they register to vote, the Supreme Court said today. The state must, the justices said in a 7-2 split on Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council, accept and use a federal form to register voters for federal elections. That form does not require citizens to prove citizenship. It simply requires that a person swear, under penalty of perjury, that he is a citizen.

Ted Cruz amendment would allow voter ID 17 Jun 2013 Ted Cruz didn't wait long to mount a legislative response to the Supreme Court's ruling against Arizona's voter registration rule. An amendment submitted by the Texas senator (R) on Monday afternoon to the Senate’s immigration bill would "permit states to require proof of citizenship for registration to vote in elections for federal office." Cruz's measure would amend the National Voter Registration Act.

Bank of America former employees: 'We were told to lie' 17 Jun 2013 Bank of America routinely denied qualified borrowers a chance to modify their loans to more affordable terms and paid cash bonuses to bank staffers for pushing homeowners into foreclosure, according to affidavits filed last week in a Massachusetts lawsuit. "We were told to lie to customers," said Simone Gordon, who worked in the bank's loss mitigation department until February 2012. "Site leaders regularly told us that the more we delayed the HAMP [l*an] modification process, the more fees Bank of America would collect." In sworn testimony, six former employees describe what they saw behind the scenes of an often opaque process that has frustrated homeowners, their attorneys and housing counselors.

Scott blocks paid sick-time vote in Orange, statewide 17 Jun 2013 Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Friday that would block local governments from enacting mandatory paid-sick-time measures, such as the one pending in Orange Count. The Republican governor [sociopath] sided with Walt Disney World [boycott], Darden Restaurants [boycott], the Florida Chamber of Commerce and a broad array of powerful business interests [ALEC-installed terrorists] that argued the ban was needed to avoid a patchwork of local employment rules for companies. The governor made the decision in rapid fashion. Scott's office took only four of the 15 days he had to legally review the bill before signing it -- which supporters said showed he wasn't concerned about potential political blow back from activists who called the measure an attack on the working class and women. [The war against the working class continues.]

NAACP protest ends with 84 arrests 17 Jun 2013 A protest led by the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP led to the arrests of 84 people Monday at the state legislature in the seventh installment of the civil rights group's near-weekly demonstrations. Protesters and supporters railed against the health and environmental policies of the Republican-controlled legislature as well as claims from GOP leaders that they're disenchanted "outsiders." Police estimated a crowd attending a rally before the protests approached roughly 1,000 people.

Mansion spending records indicate improper billing by Virginia governor and his family 06 Jun 2013 Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his wife, Maureen, have used taxpayer money for a range of small personal items they should have paid for themselves under state policy, according to spending records. The McDonnells have billed the state for body wash, sunscreen, dog vitamins and a digestive system "detox cleanse," the records show. They also have used state employees to run personal errands for their adult children.

Colorado sheriff: Wildfire damage like 'nuclear blast' 15 Jun 2013 Firefighters on the front lines of the most destructive fire in Colorado history continued to hold the massive blaze in check Saturday, as thousands of anxious residents waited to be allowed back to their homes. Firefighting officials said about 45% of the fire just outside Colorado Springs had been contained by Saturday, up from 30% Friday. Additional evacuation orders weren't immediately lifted by 2 p.m. Saturday, and law enforcement officials continued manning checkpoints around the blaze, which has destroyed nearly 500 homes.

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