Egyptian military ousts Morsi, suspends constitution

Egyptian military ousts Morsi, suspends constitution 03 Jul 2013 The Egyptian military removed President Mohamed Morsi from power Wednesday and suspended the constitution in moves it said were aimed at resolving the country’s debilitating political crisis. In a televised address to the nation after a meeting with a group of civilian political and religious leaders, the head of the powerful armed forces, Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, said the chief of Egypt’s constitutional court "will assume the presidency" on an interim basis until a new presidential election is held. Sissi said the interim president will have the right to declare laws during the transitional period.

Marines Put On Standby to Respond to Egypt Unrest 02 Jul 2013 Marines at bases in Spain and Italy were poised Tuesday for the possibility of rushing to Cairo to protect or evacuate U.S. citizens and the U.S. Embassy amid the ongoing violence and political unrest in Egypt. "We do believe we have taken steps to ensure our military is ready to respond to a range of contingencies" flowing from the faceoff between President Mohammed Morsi and opposition protesters that has the Egyptian military threatening to intervene, said George Little, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman. In response to the killing last year of Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi, Libya, the U.S. posted 550 Marines to the air base in Moron, Spain, to serve as a response force to turmoil in the region.

Al Jazeera, other TV stations forced off air in Egypt 03 Jul 2013 Al Jazeera's Egyptian broadcast has been taken off the air. Both Reuters and Al Jazeera itself reported that security forces raided Cairo offices and detained at least five staff members. Karim El-Assiuti has told Reuters his colleagues at the Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr channel were arrested while working at their studio. The station was prevented from broadcasting from a pro-Morsi rally, and a broadcasting crew was detained.

Egypt Muslim Brotherhood channel off air after Morsi's ouster, reports say 03 Jul 2013 Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood TV channel has been taken off the air and its managers arrested after the army's chief ousted President Mohamed Morsi, reports say.

Egypt army takes TV studios as deadline anxiety grows --President Mohammed Morsi's opponents, supporters in streets as deadline arrives 03 Jul 2013 Egyptians awaiting the fate of their president were on edge as the military took control of television studios in Cairo and its two-day ultimatum deadline for Mohammed Morsi expired. "Panic, anxiety, just a couple of the words we've heard from Egyptian citizens as they wait for answers," CBC reporter Nahlah Ayed tweeted from Cairo. Egypt's leading democracy advocate Mohamed ElBaradei and top Muslim and Coptic Christian clerics met Wednesday with the army chief to discuss a political road map for Egypt.

Egypt army moves in tanks, president isolated 03 Jul 2013 Egypt's army deployed tanks and troops close to the presidential palace in Cairo on Wednesday after a military deadline for Islamist President Mohamed Mursi to yield to street protests passed without any agreement. Mursi's national security adviser said a military coup was under way as armed forces commander General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met political, religious and youth leaders. The state news agency MENA said they would make a joint announcement of a roadmap for a new transitional period and new elections two years after the overthrow of autocratic ex-president Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising.

Egypt army plans for after Mursi as clock ticks 02 Jul 2013 Egypt's army has plans to push Mohamed Mursi aside and suspend the constitution after an all but impossible ultimatum it has given the Islamist president expires in less than 24 hours, military sources told Reuters on Tuesday. Condemning a coup against their first freely elected leader, tens of thousands of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood supporters took to the streets, clashing with opponents in several towns. But they appeared to be dwarfed by anti-government protesters who turned out in their hundreds of thousands across the nation. Troops were on alert after warnings of a potential civil war.

Bolivian presidential plane forced to land in Austria over suspicions Snowden on board 03 Jul 2013 After departing from Russia, the plane of Bolivian President Evo Morales was forced to land in Austria Wednesday morning over suspicions that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was on board -- a claim Bolivian and Austrian officials refuted. Snowden had requested asylum from Bolivia, which has yet to answer; he also petitioned Austria, but was rejected. Reports indicated that the plane was hindered in navigating Western Europe as France and Portugal would not allow the La Paz-bound plane to enter their airspace.

17 killed by US drone strike that 'jolted' entire Pakistani town 03 Jul 2013 At least 17 people were killed in a U.S. drone attack in the volatile North Waziristan tribal region in northwest Pakistan early Wednesday, officials said. Local residents and security officials said the aircraft fired four missiles and struck a house at Sara-e-Darpakhel area of Miranshah, which is located near the Afghan border. "I never heard such a huge drone strike before," local resident Nasrullah Khan said. "They simultaneously fired four huge missiles and jolted the entire town." Local administration officials and tribesmen said a house located in a residential area appeared to have been targeted.

Seven dead in Kabul attack on firm supplying NATO 02 Jul 2013 Seven people were killed on Tuesday in a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul targeting a foreign logistics company supplying NATO forces, police said. A plume of smoke rose above the scene of the attack in the north of the Afghan capital, which has been hit by a series of recent suicide strikes including on the Supreme Court, the airport and close to the presidential palace. Up to four other people were wounded.

China, Russia to hold joint military drills 01 Jul 2013 China and Russia will hold two joint military drills in the coming two months, military officials from both countries said here Monday. Fang Fenghui, chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), together with his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov, ratified relevant documents and announced the decision at a joint press conference. According to the two officials, Chinese and Russian armed forces will hold "Joint Sea-2013" drill in Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan from July 5 to July 12, and China-Russia joint anti- terrorism military drill code-named Peace Mission-2013 in Russia's Chelyabinsk from July 27 to August 15.

Syria: 3,500 tons of weapons already sent to 'rebels,' says Lord Ashdown 02 Jul 2013 Lord Ashdown, the former Liberal Democrat leader, spoke out against arming Syria's 'rebels' and called for pressure to be put on Qatar and Saudi Arabia to cut off funding for arms. "They do not need arms. It is an unchallenged figure that 3,500 tons of arms have been shipped in by way of Croatia with the assistance of the CIA, funded by the Saudis, funded by the Qataris, going almost exclusively to the more jihadist groups," the former international high representative for Bosnia said in a debate. "I know where those weapons are coming from. They are the weapons left over from the Bosnian war. They are being shipped out in large measure through Croatian ports and airports and I can tell you they are making vast sums for corrupt forces in the Balkans." Lord Ashdown described the rebels as "not a fit and proper collection of people for us to be providing arms to". [Right, they're CIAciopaths.]

Clapper: I gave 'erroneous' answer because I forgot about Patriot Act --Intelligence [sic] chief tries to explain false Senate testimony by saying he 'simply didn't think' of NSA efforts to collect phone data --'I simply didn't think of Section 215 of the Patriot Act.' 02 Jul 2013 The most senior US intelligence official told a Senate oversight panel that he "simply didn't think" of the National Security Agency's efforts to collect the phone records of millions of Americans when he testified in March that it did "not wittingly" snoop on their communications. James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, made the comments in a letter to the Senate intelligence committee, released in full for the first time on Tuesday. Portions of the letter, in which Clapper apologised for giving "clearly erroneous" testimony at a March hearing of the committee, were first reported by the Washington Post on Monday. Clapper had previously said that his answer to the committee was the "least untruthful" one he could publicly provide. In the full letter, Clapper attempted to explain the false testimony by saying that his recollection failed him.

Snowden still in Moscow despite Bolivian plane drama 03 Jul 2013 Bolivia on Wednesday accused the United States of trying to "kidnap" its president, Evo Morales, after his plane was denied permission to fly over some European countries on suspicion he was taking fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden to Latin America. Snowden was not on the plane when it landed in Vienna, an Austrian official said. The United States has been trying to get its hands on Snowden since he revealed details of its secret surveillance programs last month. Snowden is believed to be stranded in the transit lounge of a Moscow airport. Bolivia said the incident, in which the plane was denied permission to fly over France and Portugal before making a stop in Vienna, was an act of aggression and a violation of international law. [Just another day for the hypocritical USociopaths, warmongers and terrorists. Can you *imagine* the corporate-run media *outcry* if Obusha's plane was denied airspace? My God, the missiles would already be flying. --LRP]

Bolivia complains to UN after Evo Morales's plane 'kidnapped' --US refuses to comment on Morales plane but admits contact with other nations over potential Snowden flights 03 Jul 2013 Bolivia filed a complaint at the United Nations on Wednesday over what it called the kidnapping of its president, Evo Morales, whose plane was diverted to Vienna amid suspicions that it was carrying the surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden. The country's ambassador to the UN, Sacha Llorenti, said the enforced rerouting to Austria was an act of aggression and a violation of international law. The US admitted that it had been in contact with other nations over potential flights by Snowden. "We will demand appropriate explanations from those countries that submitted to North American imperialism and briefly put President Morales in such a helpless situation," Llorenti told the state radio Patria Nueva. Bolivia's vice-president, Alvaro García Linera, said Morales was "kidnapped by imperialism".

Snowden accuses Obama of blocking asylum requests 02 Jul 2013 US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has accused President Barack Obama of denying him his right to asylum, in a statement published by Wikileaks. It is his first public announcement since flying to Russia on 23 June, where he has applied for asylum. The former CIA analyst, who is holed up in a Moscow airport hotel, is wanted by the US on charges of espionage. He says President Obama is putting pressure on the countries from which he has requested political asylum.

Edward Snowden seeks asylum in 20 nations, but gets no immediate takers 02 Jul 2013 NSA leaker Edward Snowden's best chance of finding refuge outside the United States may hinge on the president of Venezuela, who was in Moscow on Tuesday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela told Russian reporters on Tuesday that his country has not received an application for asylum from Snowden and dodged the question of whether he would take Snowden with him when he left. But Maduro also defended the former National Security Agency systems analyst who released sensitive documents on U.S. intelligence-gathering operations.

U.S. Border Agency Is a Frequent Lender of Its Drones 04 Jul 2013 As Congress considers an overhaul to the nation's immigration law that would expand the fleet of unmanned drones along the border, the agency in charge of border protection is increasingly lending the drones it already owns to a variety of domestic law-enforcement agencies, according to documents recently made public. The documents, which include flight logs over the last three years, were unearthed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation through a Freedom of Information lawsuit. Three years ago, the drones were lent out 30 times; in 2012, they were lent out 250 times.

Homeland Security watchdog under investigation by Senate panel 02 Jul 2013 The official in charge of investigating potential misdeeds at the Department of Homeland Security is under investigation on allegations of nepotism, abusing his position and covering up details about a Secret Service prostitution scandal. Senate investigators are looking into allegations that Deputy Inspector Gen. Charles K. Edwards was "susceptible to political pressure" and that he changed and withheld information for reports on the misconduct of U.S. Secret Service agents who hired prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia, during a visit before a 2012 presidential trip, according to a letter two senators sent to Edwards on June 27.

Google: CLG News 'does not comply with Names Policy' by Lori Price, www.legitgov.org 02 Jul 2013 NSA buddy Google will not allow CLG News on Google+. After receiving countless promos at from Google to set up a 'Google+' account, I clicked to 'upgrade' to Google+. Google requested I select a different name, even though my Gmail address -- established years ago -- is clgnews at gmail dot com. When I declined to select another name, Google presented the option to 'click to appeal' to use CLG News as the owner for CLG News on Google+. On 28 June, I received an email from Google, which included the following comments.

After reviewing your appeal, we have determined that your name does not comply with the Google+ Names Policy. We want users to be able to find each other using the name they already use with their friends, family, and coworkers. For most people this is their legal name, or some variant of it, but we recognize that this isn't always the case, and we allow for other common names in Google+ -- specifically, those that represent an individual with an established online identity with a meaningful following.

CLG News, in fact, has a HUGE and 'established online identity with a meaningful following,' although NSA buddy Google doesn't 'see' that. Or, maybe they do, and that's the problem... See also: NSA buddy Google wants me to change my name, declaring 'CLG News' is 'too long' for people to remember by Lori Price 09 Dec 2012.

Two held in Canada Day terror plot 03 Jul 2013 Police have foiled a plot to bomb the parliament of British Columbia as tens of thousands gathered to celebrate Canada's independence day, arresting two people allegedly "inspired by Al-Qaeda," officials said. John Stewart Nuttall and Amanda Marie Korody were detained on Monday, as the nation marked one of its biggest holidays -- the annual July 1 Canada Day celebrated with fireworks and parades. They had allegedly planned to use pressure cooker devices to blow up the building in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, on scenic Vancouver Island, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said.

Occupy Oakland protesters awarded $1m over police violence during arrests 03 Jul 2013 Victims of excessive police force at one of the most violent flashpoints of the Occupy protests have received a $1m compensation settlement. The US district court in San Francisco made the award to a group of 12 protesters who complained of brutality during in confrontations with police in Oakland, California, in 2011. The lawsuits detailed how police reacted to the protesters when they tried to reclaim a camp which had been cleared earlier that day. Suzi Spangenberg and Sukay Sow said they were injured by flashbang grenades thrown by officers. Spangenberg, a 52-year-old seminarian was awarded $500,000 in compensation, while Sow, who suffered chemical burns to her foot, received $210,000.

North Carolina city OKs curfew after 400-teen melee 03 Jul 2013 The Greensboro, N.C., City Council approved an ordinance to reinstate a downtown curfew for teenagers Wednesday after a massive fight broke out last weekend that required local police to call other jurisdictions for support, MyFox8.com reported. The measure was easily passed, in an 8-to-1 vote, during a special meeting that was called to address the issue. The curfew goes into effect immediately, the report said. It bans anyone under the age of 17 from downtown Greensboro between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

With Montana's Lead, States May Demand Warrants for Cellphone Data 02 Jul 2013 The law rarely keeps up with technological advances - except in Montana. Legislators in that state recently passed a bill that requires the police to obtain a search warrant, based on probable cause, before they can use a cellphone carrier's records to establish a suspect's location. Steve Bullock, the Democratic governor of Montana, signed it into law on May 6.

Fukushima Plant Operator Intends to Restart Reactors Elsewhere 03 Jul 2013 The operator of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Tuesday that it would ask regulators to allow it to restart two reactors at a separate site in eastern Japan, even as problems with the company's 'cleanup' in Fukushima continue to multiply. The request by the operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, is expected to be among a flurry of such appeals from utilities seeking to restart reactors now that the government has approved tougher safety guidelines. The Tokyo Electric Power Company, known as Tepco, said it would soon apply to restart two of the seven reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world's biggest nuclear power station by capacity. That plant, about 140 miles northeast of Tokyo, sits atop fault lines and was damaged in a 2007 quake caused by another fault.

Fallen Tree Shuts Down Nuclear Reactor 03 Jul 2013 Operations at a nuclear power plant in East Tennessee have returned to normal after shutting down when a tree fell on a transmission line. The Watts Bar nuclear plant near Spring City, about 55 miles southwest of Knoxville, shut down its reactor on June 28th after a tree (which had been cut down by a nearby homeowner) crashed into an electrical transmission line. The reactor returned to service on June 30th, according to the Associated Press.

Immigration deal would boost defense manufacturers 01 Jul 2013 The border security plan the Senate approved last week includes unusual language mandating the purchase of specific models of helicopters and radar equipment for deployment along the U.S.-Mexican border, providing a potential windfall worth tens of millions of dollars to top defense contractors. The legislation would require the U.S. Border Patrol to acquire, among other items, six Northrop Grumman airborne radar systems that cost $9.3 million each, 15 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters that average more than $17 million apiece, and eight light enforcement helicopters made by American Eurocopter that sell for about $3 million each. The legislation also calls for 17 UH-1N helicopters made by Bell Helicopter, an older model that the company no longer manufactures.

Pharma-terrorists pimping deadly vaccines on UK babies: Rotavirus: Babies to Get Vomiting Bug Vaccine 01 Jul 2013 A vaccination programme aimed at protecting babies against one of the most common causes of diarrhoea in young children begins today. The rotavirus vaccination will be given to all infants aged between two and three months. Children will receive the vaccine orally as two separate doses of liquid drops. Dr Sarah Jarvis, a GP, told Sky News: "The vaccination has been routinely used for many years in other countries. Overall it looks [!?] extremely safe."

Senate tacks sweeping abortion legislation onto Sharia law bill 03 Jul 2013 Senators on Tuesday tacked a suite of new restrictions and regulations pertaining to abortion clinics onto a bill dealing with the application of foreign laws in North Carolina family courts. The measure was unveiled unexpectedly during an unusual late-day committee meeting. It combines several bills in different stages of the legislative process into one omnibus measure. ...Until then, the committee's calendar only listed House Bill 695, which prohibits the recognition of foreign law, such as Islamic Sharia law, in family courts.

NC's new abortion bill follows Texas, Ohio 02 Jul 2013 The anti-abortion omnibus that emerged without warning late Tuesday, House Bill 695, has much in common with anti-abortion laws and proposals in other states, including the bill in Texas that has mobilized thousands to protest in Austin this week. Senate Republicans passed the legislation Tuesday evening after only 90 minutes public notice. The revamped bill, which started as a Sharia Law ban sent over from the House, wasn't even available to the public online until just before the floor debate started.

BET Awards: Jamie Foxx makes statement with Trayvon Martin T-shirt 01 Jul 2013 Actor Jamie Foxx made a silent but powerful fashion statement at Sunday's BET Awards, where he opted out of the usual red-carpet finery in favor of a T-shirt bearing the image of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teen whose shooting death last year sparked intense national debate over gun control and racial profiling. Foxx won the evening's prize for lead actor for his role as a vengeance-seeking freed slave in "Django Unchained." On stage to accept the award, he opted not to mention the controversy by name, allowing the shirt -- which featured a stylized black-and-white version of the now-iconic close-up of Martin in a hoodie, and was paired with bright white jeans and shoes -- to do the talking for him.

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