Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government 17 Dec 2008 <http://www.legitgov.org/>http://www.legitgov.org/ All items are here: <http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news>http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news
<http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4BG7R120081217>White powder mailed to 16 U.S. embassies in Europe 17 Dec 2008 Envelopes containing white powder that later tested negative for toxins were mailed to 16 U.S. embassies in Europe this month, the State Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday. "Tests conducted to date have all met with negative results," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said a statement that cautioned some embassies' test results had not been completed. <http://dallas.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel08/dl121708.htm>Suspicious White Powder Letters Sent to 40 U.S. Governors 17 Dec 2008 Since Monday, December 8, letters containing a note and suspicious white powder have been received by the offices of more than 40 governors across the country. Additional letters have been received at several U.S. Embassies overseas, said Robert E. Casey, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Dallas FBI. To date, all letters have been postmarked from Texas. <http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_603362.html>Letter with white powder opened in governor's mailroom 17 Dec 2008 (PA) A letter containing white powder was opened in the mailroom of the governor's office today, a spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell (D) said. The FBI was called in to investigate. Offices, including those in the House on the side of the Capitol near the governor's office, were locked down. <http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hRXPAI74ls3KjW2x2uc_l-UtBfhwD954HNCO0>Feds: Suspicious packages sent to Guard, Reserve 17 Dec 2008 Federal authorities are reporting that suspicious packages have been sent to National Guard bureaus and reserve facilities in 36 states. A Dec. 16 report from the Department of Homeland Security says the 51 packages include anti-war compact discs, and one package also had a suspicious powder. It said the powder, sent in a package to Utah's National Guard headquarters in Draper, was tested and found not to be toxic, the report said. <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=ai5.J.lLn0o4>Brown Says U.K. Forces Will Leave Iraq in 2009 17 Dec 2008 Prime Minister Gordon Brown said British forces will leave Iraq in the first half of 2009 after a six-year war that ejected Saddam Hussein from power and helped bring down Tony Blair. Brown and his Iraqi counterpart, Nuri al-Maliki, said the government in Baghdad approved a draft law providing for the withdrawal of troops from the U.K., Australia, Romania, Estonia, and El Salvador no later than July 31, 2009. <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gUBuiok4sVGaKj4j9Tk0vXfoBzfQ>Baghdad bombs kills 10 on day of Brown visit 17 Dec 2008 At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded when a car bomb exploded in the centre of Baghdad on Wednesday as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was visiting, the US military said. Seven civilians were among the dead and 25 among the 43 wounded, the Americans said. <http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.2820709748>Iraq: Bomb attack targets minister in Baghdad 16 Dec 2008 Three civilians were wounded on Tuesday in a car bomb attack that targeted the motorcade of Iraq's Science and Technology Minister Raed Fahmy in southern Baghdad, a police source said. "A car crammed with explosives went off near the Babel Hotel in southern Baghdad, targeting the motorcade of the Science and Technology Minister Raed Fahmy, injuring three persons, including one of the minister's bodyguards," a source told Iraqi news agency, Voices of Iraq. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7788641.stm>US 'to drop Blackwater in Iraq' 17 Dec 2008 Blackwater should be dropped as the main private security contractor for US diplomats in Iraq, a US State Department panel has recommended. Its report, commissioned by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, says the company's contract should not be renewed when it expires next year. <http://www.bnd.com/news/state/story/540853.html>Report: State Dept., Blackwater cooperated to neutralize killings 16 Dec 2008 State Department officials worked closely with the private security contractor Blackwater USA to play down incidents in which company operatives killed innocent Iraqis, according to Blackwater and State Department documents obtained by a congressional committee. When a drunken Blackwater contractor killed a bodyguard of Iraq's vice president last Christmas Eve, the State Department helped spirit the contractor mercenary out of the country within 36 hours [oh, just like the bin Laden family after 9/11], according to the report, released Monday by Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j7152EDjg4GkdC1s7FTsbSxwCjGA>General Electric wins three bln dlr Iraqi power deal 16 Dec 2008 US conglomerate General Electric Co. said Tuesday it has been awarded a three billion dollar power generation contract by war-wracked Iraq. General Electric has been a major player in Iraq since 2003, when the United States [illegally] invaded the country to overthrow Saddam Hussein. <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article5360397.ece>Protests rise over alleged beating of 'shoe man' Muntadhar al-Zeidi 18 Dec 2008 The furore over President [sic] Bush's shoe-throwing assailant spread through Iraq and across international borders yesterday, claiming its first political casualty as protests grew over his continued detention and alleged ill-treatment. The brother of Muntazar al-Zaidi, who secured his place in infamy with his outburst against Mr Bush at a press conference in Baghdad, claimed that the journalist had been so badly beaten in custody that police were unable to produce him in court. <http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24815225-12335,00.html>Bush shoe thrower Muntazer al-Zaidi 'too injured' for court 18 Dec 2008 The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at United States President [sic] George W. Bush has appeared before a judge in his jail cell because he is too injured to appear in a courtroom, his brother says. The al-Zaidi family went to Baghdad's Central Criminal Court expecting to attend a hearing, his brother, Dhargham, said. He said the family was told that the investigative judge went to see al-Zaidi in jail, and to return in eight days, Associated Press has reported. "That means my brother was severely beaten and they fear that his appearance could trigger anger at the court,'' Dhargham said. <http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11254082>Berkeley Code Pink activists support Iraq shoe-throwing reporter 17 Dec 2008 Anti-war activists from the group Code Pink gathered at a Marine recruiting station in Berkeley this morning to show solidarity with an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President [sic] Bush on Sunday. Members of the group and others marched around the recruiting station holding shoes in the air to show support for Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, who hurled two shoes at Bush during a news conference in Baghdad. CLG Action: <http://www.legitgov.org/price_send_bush_shoes_161208.html>Send Bush Your Shoes! 17 Dec 2008 America: We were unable to give President [sic] Bush the boot, but we *can* give him the shoe! Send virtual shoes, too! A CLG reader wrote, 'I urge everyone around the world who thinks it appropriate to email George Bush at <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected] a picture of a shoe.' Please spread this action far and wide. <http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24816310-12335,00.html>Guantanamo 'worst place on Earth' 17 Dec 2008 An Algerian-born man who has just been freed from Guantanamo Bay has described the US "war on terror" camp as the worst place on Earth, in an interview published in a Bosnian newspaper. "For almost seven years, I was at the end of the world, at the worst place in the world,'' Mustafa Ait Idir told the Dnevni Avaz a day after arriving back in his adopted homeland of Bosnia. Mr Idir, along with two other prisoners released from Guantanamo, Mohamed Nechla and Hadji Boudella, arrived in Bosnia yesterday. <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gjiMEetxqWsyrdwPXfRQlHWH9D5Q>Sixth British soldier in a week killed in Afghanistan 17 Dec 2008 A British soldier was killed in fighting in troubled southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the sixth fatality among British forces in the past week, the defence ministry said in a statement. The soldier from 1st Battalion The Rifles was killed by enemy fire in an area north west of Lashkar Gah in southern Helmand province while fighting in the district of Nad-e-Ali, the ministry in London said. <http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/12/airforce_fewarren_fails_121608w/>F.E. Warren missile wing fails nuke inspection --Failure to be fifth nuclear unit known to fail inspection this year 16 Dec 2008 The 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., will fail its Nuclear Surety Inspection that is set to end Wednesday because its maintenance group did not properly document tests on its missiles, an Air Force official said. The 90th will be the second nuclear missile wing and at least the fifth nuclear unit known to fail its NSI this year. Inspectors failed the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., last month. The Air Force's third and only other nuclear missile wing, the 91st Missile Wing at <http://www.legitgov.org/minot_afb_nukes_oddities.html>Minot Air Force Base, N.D., received failing grades on its NSI this year from Defense Threat Reduction Agency inspectors, but passed after the Space Command Inspector General overruled DTRA, said an official inside the nuclear community. <http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/522206.html>Air Guard squadron to dispatch its members into missile field 17 Dec 2008 Minot Air Force Base: The North Dakota Air National Guard's 219th Security Forces Squadron will send its members into the Minot missile field for the first time Thursday. The N.D. Air Guard unit was established to supplement security forces with Minot AFB's 91st Missile Wing in the missile field. <http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkiMxbHNH0BqgpWA2ZG6VD6wVTmAD954KQAO0>Pakistan demands India provide Mumbai evidence 17 Dec 2008 Pakistan sought to put some of the pressure over the Mumbai bloodshed on India, demanding Wednesday that its neighbor hand over "concrete evidence" against Pakistani citizens and groups allegedly involved in the terror attack. Officials have been saying for days that they need evidence to try suspects, but there has no sign India would provide any of its findings soon. <http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4BG3PH20081217>Indian police to question possible Mumbai "scouts" 17 Dec 2008 Indian police will question two jailed members of an Islamist militant group over whether they scouted Mumbai landmarks before last month's deadly attacks on the financial hub, a senior police officer said on Wednesday. <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081216-behind-the-legal-fight-over-nsas-stellar-wind-surveillance.html>Behind the legal fight over NSA's "Stellar Wind" surveillance By Julian Sanchez 16 Dec 2008 The most recent edition of Newsweek confirms a few long-held suspicions about the National Security Agency's controversial post-9/11 surveillance activities--such as the identity of the Justice Department lawyer who first tipped off The New York Times about the administration's warrantless wiretapping and the basis for the internal showdown that led to a now-infamous face-off at the attorney general's hospital bed. It also provides a few new revelations--including the classified name of the program: "Stellar Wind." <http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2008/12/16/US_audit_questions_security_of_Justice_Dept_computers/UPI-63211229460457/>U.S. audit questions security of Justice Dept. computers 16 Dec 2008 An audit of information security at the Department of Justice says that though the agency got an A-plus rating under federal standards, those measure only processes on paper and that, in reality, no one knows how secure computers in the department -- and, by extension, the rest of the federal government -- are. The audit, by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine, also noted that the department "lacks effective methodologies Š for maintaining an inventory of devices connected to the department's various (information technology) networks." <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28277848/>Illinois court rejects calls to remove Blagojevich --Governor speaks as his attorney fights impeachment panel in Springfield 17 Dec 2008 The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to hear a claim that Gov. Rod Blagojevich is unfit to serve, erasing what could have been the quickest path to forcing him out of office as he faces federal charges. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28284449/>Minn. court weighs rejected absentee ballots --Coleman's lawyer warns of repeating 2000's Bush-Gore impasse GOP coup d'etat 17 Dec 2008 Republican Sen. Norm Coleman went before the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to block improperly rejected absentee ballots from Minnesota's U.S. Senate recount, with his lawyer warning that justices must act to prevent a repeat of the tortured 2000 Bush-Gore impasse stolen election. The 'argument' drew stern words from Justice Paul Anderson. <http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/12/17/lahood_accepts_transportation.html>Obama picks Republican For Transportation Secretary Job 17 Dec 2008 Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) last night accepted an offer to become President-elect Barack Obama's transportation secretary and the nomination will be made official in coming days, two senior Democratic officials said. LaHood, who is retiring after representing a rural downstate district in Congress since 1995, becomes the second Republican tapped for Obama's Cabinet. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/us/politics/18salazarcnd.html>Environmentalists Wary of Obama's Interior Pick [Well, we're weary of nearly *all* of his picks.] 17 Dec 2008 President-elect Barack Obama's choice to lead the Interior Department, Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado, will inherit an agency demoralized by years of [Bush] scandal, political interference and mismanagement... Senator Salazar was not the first choice of environmental advocates for the Interior Department. <http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16693.html>Gay activists furious with Obama --Rick Warren, Obama's pick to give the inaugural invocation, backed the California ban on same-sex marriage. 17 Dec 2008 Barack Obama's choice of a prominent evangelical minister to perform the invocation at his inauguration is a conciliatory gesture toward social conservatives who opposed him in November, but it is drawing fierce challenges from the gay rights movement. Rick Warren's support for the California constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage that drew the most heated criticism from Democrats Wednesday. <http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/obama-to-announce-sec-chairwoman/>Obama to Announce S.E.C. Chairwoman 17 Dec 2008 President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday will announce Mary Schapiro to be the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Democrats familiar with the decision, elevating Ms. Schapiro from her current position as the head of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority. <http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/17/autos/chrysler_shutdown/>Chrysler shuts down all production --Close of business Friday will be the start of a monthlong closure of 30 U.S. plants. 17 Dec 2008 Chrysler LLC announced late Wednesday that it is stopping all vehicle production in the United States for at least a month. All 30 of the carmaker's plants will close after the last shift on Friday, and employees will not be asked to return to work before Jan. 19. Chrysler blamed the "continued lack of consumer credit for the American car buyer" for the slow-down in sales that forced the move. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28278398/>Obama team considers $1 trillion stimulus --Option being considered would rival efforts to fight the Great Depression 17 Dec 2008 Anxious to jolt the economy back to life, President-elect Barack Obama is considering a federal stimulus package that could reach a whopping $1 trillion, dwarfing last spring's tax rebates and rivaling drastic government actions to fight the Great Depression. <http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4BG7GK20081217>Congress to probe SEC role in Madoff affair 17 Dec 2008 A U.S. House of Representatives panel plans to convene an inquiry in January into the failure of regulators to unearth an alleged $50 billion securities fraud by financier Bernard Madoff, a key lawmaker said on Wednesday. Madoff, a former Nasdaq Stock Market chairman, was arrested last week and charged with running a massive Ponzi scheme. He is accused of defrauding banks, investment funds, charities and wealthy individuals who invested in funds he controlled. <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5icIlj9khpuCeUG-RFot7ytI02oRA>'Computer glitch' shuts down Toronto Stock Exchange 17 Dec 2008 Technical woes on Wednesday halted trading at the Toronto Stock Exchange, North America's third largest stock market, and no timeline has been announced for its reopening. [!] All trading was suspended "due to technical issues with data feeds," said a statement on the exchange's website. Thanks to Bush bin Laden and Cheney's Energy Task Force: <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122947913590112885.html>One in Five Households Fell Behind on Utility Bills Last Winter 17 Dec 2008 One in five U.S. households was behind on its utility bills coming out of last winter, a new survey concludes, raising fears that the current heating season could be even worse. One in 20 households had its utility service terminated in 2007. Electric customers who were overdue owed an average of $157 in May 2008, when prohibitions on most wintertime service shutoffs ended, while overdue natural-gas customers owed an average of $360. <http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE4B87I520081209>Congress should expand Yucca Mountain capacity: DOE 09 Dec 2008 Congress should expand the capacity of the planned U.S. nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada and delay a decision on whether to commission an additional dump site, the U.S. Energy Department said in a report released on Tuesday. "Unless Congress raises or eliminates the current statutory capacity limit of 70,000 metric tons of heavy metal, a second repository will be needed," Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said in a statement. <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/392416_pointnoreturnonline17.html>Arctic melt passes the point of no return 16 Dec 2008 Scientists have found the first unequivocal evidence that the Arctic region is warming at a faster rate than the rest of the world at least a decade before it was predicted to happen. Climate-change researchers have found that air temperatures in the region are higher than would be normally expected during the autumn because the increased melting of the summer Arctic sea ice is accumulating heat in the ocean. The phenomenon, known as Arctic amplification, was not expected to be seen for at least another 10 or 15 years and the findings will further raise concerns that the Arctic has already passed the climatic tipping-point towards ice-free summers, beyond which it may not recover. <http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=5a9d36ba-695d-47f6-a209-c82d06135d2b>Eggs key to polar bear survival: study 16 Dec 2008 Canada's vulnerable polar bear population could survive the effects of climate change by switching a significant part of their diet from seal meat to scrambled eggs, according to a new U.S. study that suggests snow geese nests along the Hudson Bay shore may become a key feeding site for the iconic Arctic mammal. CLG needs your support. <http://www.legitgov.org/#contribute>http://www.legitgov.org/#contribute<> Or, please mail a check or money order to CLG: Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG) P.O. Box 1142 Bristol, CT 06011-1142 Contributions to CLG are not tax deductible Previous lead stories: <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/washington/16scotus.html>Justices Restore Suit Brought by Ex-Prisoners Citing Torture 16 Dec 2008 The Supreme Court on Monday revived a lawsuit brought by four former prisoners at Guantánamo Bay against Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former defense secretary, and other officials. The former prisoners, all British citizens, say they were tortured and subjected to religious persecution. In a brief <http://www.supremecourtus.gov/orders/courtorders/121508zor.pdf>order, the justices instructed a federal appeals court to take a second look at the case in light of the Supreme Court's decision in June in <http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/06-1195.pdf>Boumediene v. Bush granting Guantánamo prisoners the right to challenge their detention in federal court. <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/12/15/2008-12-15_very_valuable_guantanamo_bay_should_stay.html>'Very valuable' Guantanamo Bay should stay open, says Dick Cheney 15 Vice President [sic] Cheney said Tuesday that the Guantanamo Bay prison camp should stay open until the war on terror ends, and he defended interrogation by "waterboarding," which critics call torture. He also stood by his attempts to expand presidential power, suggesting Barack Obama will see the value of a muscular view of White House authority. <http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=78597§ionid=351020403>Bush predicts long US war in Afghanistan 16 Dec 2008 Outgoing US President [sic] George W. Bush says Washington would not walk away from the conflict in Afghanistan despite rising violence and instability. The US president arrived in violence-wracked Afghanistan on a surprise trip after making a farewell visit to war-torn Iraq. Bush's plane landed in the dark at the Bagram air base outside the capital Kabul on early Monday. Those who'd like to be added to the list can go here: <http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg>http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg and add your name.Those who wish to be removed from the list can access the same link and click 'unsubscribe.' Please write to: signup at legitgov.org for inquiries/issues/concerns with your subscription. CLG Managing Editor: Lori Price. Copyright © 2008, Citizens For Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. 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