Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government 17 May 2009 <http://www.legitgov.org/>http://www.legitgov.org/ All links are here: <http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news>http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/rumsfelds-renegade-unit-blamed-for-afghan-deaths-1685704.html>Rumsfeld's renegade unit blamed for Afghan deaths --Special Forces group implicated in three incidents that claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians/MarSOC was set up by former defence secretary despite opposition from within the Marine Corps 16 May 2009 A single American Special Forces group was behind at least three of Afghanistan's worst civilian casualty incidents, The Independent has learnt, raising fundamental questions about their ongoing role in the conflict. Troops from the US Marines Corps' Special Operations Command, or MarSOC, were responsible for calling in air strikes in Bala Boluk, in Farah, last week - believed to have killed more than 140 men, women and children - as well as two other incidents in 2007 and 2008. MarSOC was created three years ago on the express orders of Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary at the time, despite opposition from within the Marine Corps and the wider Special Forces community. <http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/09/05/13/10313137.html>'You can't authorise murder': Hersh 12 May 2009 Pulitzer prize-winning American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh recently said that former US vice-president [sic] Dick Cheney headed a secret assassination wing that targeted America's enemies abroad. SEYMOUR HERSH: In Cheney's view this isn't murder, but carrying out the "war on terror". And in the view of me and my friends, including people in government, this is crazy. The vice president is committing a crime. You can't authorise the murder of people. And it's not just in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's in a lot of other countries, in the Middle East and in South Asia and North Africa and even central America. <http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/16/afghanistan.contractors/>US mercenary firm in Kabul car shoot-up owned by Blackwater's Eric Prince --Paravant is affiliated with Xe 16 May 2009 Four mercenaries under investigation by the U.S. military for a shooting in Afghanistan are being held against their will by their former employer, their lawyer told CNN on Saturday. Not true, says Paravant, the employer. Paravant is affiliated with Xe, the new company name for the security contractor Blackwater Worldwide, according to sources familiar with the incident. Paravant is owned by Erik Prince, who is also the owner of Xe. <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124239900599924043.html>Xe Mercenaries Fired at Kabul Car --US mercenaries were trainers hired by Paravant LLC, a subsidiary of Xe 16 May 2009 Four U.S. mercenaries affiliated with the company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide fired on an approaching civilian vehicle in Kabul this month, wounding at least two Afghan civilians, according to the company and the U.S. military. The off-duty mercenaries were involved in a car accident around 9 p.m. on May 5 and then fired on the approaching vehicle, according to the U.S. military. At least some of the men, who were former military personnel, had been allegedly drinking alcohol that evening, according to a person familiar with the incident. <http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/11-us-bill-links-military-aid-to-a-q-khan--02>US bill links military aid to A Q Khan 17 May 2009 While all eyes are focused on the congressional approval of $1.9 billion of US economic assistance to Pakistan earlier this week, a bill pending before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs can all but stifle US military assistance to Pakistan. The bill -- H. R. 1463 -- was introduced in the House of Representatives on March 12 and has now been referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs for further action. To qualify for US military assistance, Pakistan will have to produce Dr. A.Q. Khan before American interrogators. <http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE54F15820090516>U.S. drone kills 10 in Pakistan 16 May 2009 A car packed with mortar bombs blew up on a busy street in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Saturday, killing 11 people hours after a suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles at militants in another region and killed 10. The violence came as the Pakistani military battled Taliban militants in a northwestern valley in an offensive that has forced more than 900,000 people from their homes. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/16/us-military-veterans-iraq-murder-violence>Iraq sends US soldiers back as killers --Soldier's killing spree left five dead - adding to the grim total of murders by US veterans as the military is accused of failing its battle-scarred personnel 16 May 2009 The military has suggested that Sergeant John Russell's work cannibalising and rebuilding robots used to set off roadside bombs brought him into regular contact with gruesome casualties, and that took a toll that exploded at Camp Liberty in Baghdad this week. The army says it recognised signs of trauma in the 44-year-old sergeant, who was just a few weeks from leaving Iraq, and dispatched him for psychological assessment at a military stress centre in Baghdad. Russell got into a fight there, grabbed a gun and shot two doctors and three other soldiers dead. <http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090525/zirin2>McChrystal's Pat Tillman Connection By Dave Zirin 13 May 2009 When NFL player-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman died at the hands of US troops in a case of "friendly fire," the spin machine at the Pentagon went into overdrive... So an obscene lie was told to Tillman's family, his friends and the American public... Today, after five years, six investigations and two Congressional hearings, questions still linger about how Tillman died and why it was covered up. Now the man who greased the chain of command that orchestrated this great deception is prepared to assume total control of US operations in Afghanistan: Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal. It was McChrystal who approved Tillman's posthumous Silver Star, a medal given explicitly for combat, even though he later testified that he "suspected" friendly fire. <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6291650.ece>President Obama to restart Guantanamo Bay military tribunals 15 May 2009 Barack Obama is set to reverse the first formal decision of his presidency today with the expected announcement that his Administration will restart Bush-era military tribunals for Guantánamo Bay detainees. While still on the campaign trail, Mr Obama denounced the military commission system as "flawed". B*** me, Boner: <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abygaGvzc2.Q>Pelosi Must Provide Proof or Apology on CIA Memo, Boehner Says 17 May 2009 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should provide proof of her allegation that the Central Intelligence Agency misled her about terrorism-related interrogation tactics or apologize for her accusations, Republican leaders said. "If the speaker is accusing the CIA and other intelligence officials of lying or misleading the Congress then she should come forward with evidence and turn that over to the Justice Department," House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said on CNN's "State of the Union" today. "If that's not the case, I think she ought to apologize to our intelligence officials." Satire! <http://www.legitgov.org/shulman_obama_torture_photos_170509.html>Shocking Reason Obama Stopped Release of Torture Photos By R J Shulman 17 May 2009 The most damaging photograph is not a picture of US soldiers mistreating terrorist suspects in Iraq, but is instead an image of President Obama himself, cheering on a semi-nude Miss California, Carrie Prejean, as she waterboards House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (Satire) <http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=95022§ionid=351020101>Obama says Iran war not off the table 17 May 2009 President Barack Obama says the US has not taken military action against Iran over its nuclear program off the table ahead of the Israeli premier's trip to Washington. In an <http://www.newsweek.com/id/197891>interview with Newsweek on Saturday, Obama made it clear that he did not take any options off the table when asked about war with Iran. <http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=95006§ionid=351020104>Israeli war on Iran 'completely insane' 17 May 2009 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general says Israel would be making a 'completely insane' move, should it stage a war on Iran. Head of the UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei advised officials in Tel Aviv to exercise restraint and allow the diplomatic approach of the Obama White House on the Iranian nuclear issue to proceed. <http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=94859§ionid=351020202>Israel ups war training despite US discontent 15 May 2009 The Israeli Air Force (IAF) is training against warplanes in service with Arab nations and Iran amid worries in the White House that Tel Aviv would start a war without US consent. The IAF has trained against Soviet-designed MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters -- loaned to Israel by an unidentified foreign country -- to prepare its pilots for missions where they might have to fight a foreign air force, Israel's Channel 2 reported. <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6289593.ece>Leon Panetta's mission to stop Israel bombing Iranian nuclear plant 15 May 2009 America's spy chief was sent on a secret mission to Israel to warn its leaders not to launch a surprise attack on Iran without notifying the US Administration. As Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, prepares to visit Washington, it emerged yesterday that Leon Panetta, the head of the CIA, went to Israel two weeks ago. He sought assurances from Mr Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, the Defence Minister, that their hawkish new Government would not attack Iran without alerting Washington. [Oh, so it's ok if Israel attacks Iran -- as long as they notify Washington?] <http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=94972§ionid=351020203>Lebanon arrests 13th Israeli spy in 2 months 16 May 2009 Lebanese troops have detained another suspected Israeli spy in the eastern Bekaa valley as Beirut pushes ahead with a campaign to end Israeli espionage in the country. Ziad Homsi, former mayor of Saadnayel town and current deputy mayor, was arrested in his home at dawn, a Press TV correspondent reported Saturday. The latest arrest brings to about 13 the number of people formally charged with spying since April, when a former general in the security service, his wife and a nephew were detained. <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/human-rights-act-will-hamper-soldiers-in-action-warns-mod-1686278.html>Human Rights Act will hamper soldiers in action, warns MoD 17 May 2009 The Ministry of Defence is bracing itself for defeat with a landmark court ruling tomorrow on whether Britain's soldiers, sailors and airmen should be protected under the Human Rights Act while they serve abroad. If the judgment from one of the UK's most senior judges goes against the MoD, as some defence chiefs fear, it could force it to take greater care of troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. <http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/nsa/>Obama Dares Judge to Order Release of NSA Spy Document 15 May 2009 Setting the stage for a constitutional showdown, the Obama administration dared a federal judge here late Friday to do what no judge has yet done: disclose classified data the government has declared a national security state secret. The administration <http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2009/05/walkercrisis.pdf>urged U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker to order such a disclosure in a 3-year-old lawsuit weighing whether a sitting U.S. president may bypass Congress and adopt a program of eavesdropping on Americans without warrants. Such an order, the administration said, could halt three years of convoluted litigation and force the appellate courts to weigh in on the hotly contested issue. <http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-jon-huntsman17-2009may17,0,2559548.story>Obama picks former co-chair of McCain-Palin campaign as ambassador to China 16 May 2009 President Obama today reached into the Republican ranks for a key foreign policy position in his administration, tapping Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman to be ambassador to China. Huntsman, a Mormon, noted the unusual political circumstances. "Nor did I expect, as national co-chair of Senator [John] McCain's presidential campaign, to be called into action by the person who beat us," Huntsman added. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/15/mps-expenses-constituents-public-anger>MPs' expenses: shoot them or jail them -- public is after revenge --A window is smashed, a garden is vandalised and vengeance is demanded as taxpayers turn on their Westminster representatives over expenses scandal 16 May 2009 It was fortunate that Andrew MacKay did not encounter one of his elderly constituents when the Conservative MP defied growing public fury to show his face in Bracknell town centre yesterday. "I can see ordinary people going round with shotguns and shooting them all," said a pensioner in this industrious Berkshire town. She was so enraged by <http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/mps-expenses>MPs' expenses, she said, that she was tempted to shoot the Speaker herself. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5333658/MPs-expenses-Voters-want-general-election.html>MPs expenses: Voters want general election --Almost two thirds of voters want a general election to be held as soon as possible amid mounting public anger at MPs' expense claims. 16 May 2009 A poll by ComRes for BBC Two's Daily Politics programme found that 65 per cent of those surveyed felt there should be an election while 33 per cent disagreed. Politicians who have been "named and shamed" in the expenses revelations should be forced to quit Parliament, according to 64 per cent of those questioned. <http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/swineflumayhaveinfectedmorethan100000americans>Swine Flu May Have Infected More Than 100,000 Americans 16 Mar 2009 While the official tally of confirmed U.S. swine flu cases topped 4,700 on Friday, experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimate the true number of infections at more than 100,000 nationwide. <http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/news/ny-nyflu1712775674may16,0,1698027.story>Swine flu at Rikers prompts call for closure 16 May 2009 Confirmation that an inmate at Rikers Island has swine flu sparked a correction officers union official Saturday to demand that the city close and sanitize a prison facility. But New York City Department of Correction officials said there was no need to close the Ann M. Kross Center at Rikers Island because precautions had been taken to prevent swine flu from spreading. <http://australianetworknews.com/stories/200905/2568696.htm>China places nearly 350 under quarantine 13 May 2009 China has isolated nearly 350 people, including foreigners who travelled with the person who was the mainland's first swine flu case in an effort to contain the virus. State run China Central Television says authorities found and isolated 349 of the 383 people who had taken two of the same flights as a Chinese man confirmed to have the H1N1 virus. The Beijing municipal health authority says 78 foreigners were among those quarantined at a hotel in the capital for a seven day observation period. <http://www.cubaperiodistas.cu/noticias/mayo09/12/06.htm>¿A quién beneficia esta epidemia? Varias interrogantes que los medios hegemónicos de comunicación han obviado 12 May 2009 Un revelador trabajo plantea varias interrogantes que los medios hegemónicos de comunicación han obviado, en su afán por generar terror entre la población. ¿A quién beneficia esta epidemia? ¿Qué otras noticias está sepultando? ¿Para qué se está utilizando la emergencia en México? El reporte de Fernando Velázquez menciona un artículo de la investigadora <http://www.legitgov.org/>Lori Price en el sitio web Globalresearch.ca, titulado La gripe acaba con los memos de la tortura, en el que esta señala que la influenza porcina, fabricada probablemente en laboratorios militares de Estados Unidos, ha acabado con la noticia de los memos sobre la tortura ordenada por la Agencia Central de Inteligencia (CIA) contra prisioneros en (N.R: la ilegal base de) Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib, y cárceles secretas. <http://jollyrogerrevolution.blogspot.com/2009/04/if-you-sell-crack-join-gang-or-rob-mob.html>Flu Bug 28 Apr 2009 By Jolly Roger ...[A] few eyebrows were raised when five microbiologists either disappeared or died mysteriously violent deaths in 2001. A short time later the number rose to 19, and then 29. They were found stabbed to death in the trunks of cars, thrown off bridges, or they wrapped their cars around trees after their brake fluid disappeared... By 2005, we lost 40 micro-biologists in less than 4 years, all under suspicious circumstances, and during this time someone discovered that they were all working for the government, or government contractors, on projects related to bio-terrorism, flu pandemics, or anthrax. <http://www.naturalnews.com/026283.html>Court Orders Parents to Poison Their 13-Year-Old Child with Chemotherapy By Mike Adams 15 May 2009 Against the wishes of both the parents and the 13-year-old patient in question, a Minnesota judge has ruled that Daniel Hauser must undergo conventional chemotherapy treatments, which are characterized by the mass-poisoning of the patient with toxic chemicals. For opting to explore alternative and natural remedies rather than chemotherapy for their son, the parents were accused of medical neglect and now face having their son taken away from them by Child Protective Services (CPS). They may also face prison time if they refuse to follow the judge's orders. Mega barf alert! <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/business/15ingredients.html>Food Companies Are Placing the Onus for Safety on Consumers 15 May 2009 The frozen pot pies that sickened an estimated 15,000 people with salmonella in 2007 left federal inspectors mystified... ConAgra -- which sold more than 100 million pot pies last year under its popular Banquet label -- decided to make the consumer responsible for the kill step. Increasingly, the corporations that supply Americans with processed foods are unable to guarantee the safety of their ingredients. <http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090515/NEWS01/905150366>Ponzi scammer dies in drive off cliff before Hawaii sentencing --Ponzi schemer drives off cliff in Washington state the day he was to be sentenced in Hawaii 15 May 2009 A former Kaua'i mortgage broker who admitted to defrauding more than 50 people out of $30 million drove his truck off a cliff into a ravine in Washington state, killing himself yesterday, the day he was due in federal court in Honolulu for sentencing, according to law enforcement officials. CLG needs your support. <http://www.legitgov.org/donate.html>http://www.legitgov.org/donate.html<> 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://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8052999.stm>Anger at Obama Guantanamo ruling 15 May 2009 Civil liberties groups have reacted angrily to US President Barack Obama's decision to revive military trials for some Guantanamo Bay prisoners. Mr Obama has previously denounced the Bush-era judicial system, but in a statement said new safeguards would ensure suspects got a fairer hearing. New rules include rejecting statements obtained from harsh interrogations torture and limitations on using hearsay evidence. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1182228/Barack-Obama-U-turn-military-terror-trials.html>Barack Obama U-turn over military terror trials 15 May 2009 President Obama has been accused of a major policy U-turn after he decided to restore the controversial military tribunals set up by George Bush to prosecute terror suspects. The surprise White House announcement reversed his campaign pledge to rely on the conventional court system. The move was last night criticised by human rights groups, who believed Mr Obama intended to dismantle the terror tribunals after calling them 'an enormous failure' during last year's presidential campaign. It was the president's second U-turn this week, after he changed his mind and pledged to try and block the court-ordered release of photographs showing U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners. [See: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8048774.stm>Obama U-turn on abuse photographs 13 May 2009.] <http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-13/cheneys-role-deepens/>Cheney's Role Deepens By Robert Windrem --Former NBC News investigative producer reports that the vice president's office suggested waterboarding an Iraqi prisoner who was suspected of knowing about a relationship between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. 13 May 2009 Robert Windrem, who covered terrorism for NBC, reports that: Two U.S. intelligence officers confirm that Vice President [sic] Cheney's office suggested waterboarding an Iraqi prisoner, a former intelligence official for Saddam Hussein, who was suspected to have knowledge of a Saddam-al Qaeda connection. The former chief of the Iraq Survey Group, Charles Duelfer, in charge of interrogations, tells The Daily Beast that he considered the request reprehensible. Much of the information in the report of the 9/11 Commission was provided through more than 30 sessions of torture of detainees. Those who wish 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 unsubscribe can go here: <http://lists.people-link.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/legitgov>http://lists.people-link.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/legitgov. If your email provider has marked this newsletter as spam, please mark it as 'not spam' and do not delete from a spam or 'junk' folder, as such actions trigger false spam complaints against the CLG. If you have any inquiries/issues with your subscription, please write: signup at legitgov dot org. CLG Managing Editor: Lori Price. Copyright © 2009, Citizens For Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [email protected] OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
