Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government

UN torture rep to investigate treatment of jailed leaks suspect Bradley Manning -- Office of rapporteur on torture confirms it is looking into complaint made by Manning supporter 23 Dec 2010 The United Nations is investigating a complaint on behalf of Bradley Manning that he is being mistreated while held since May in US Marine Corps custody pending trial. The army private is charged with the unauthorised use and disclosure of classified information, material related to the WikiLeaks, and faces a court martial sometime in 2011. The office of Manfred Nowak, special rapporteur on torture based in Geneva, received the complaint from a Manning supporter; his office confirmed that it was being looked into. Manning's supporters say that he is in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day; this could be construed as a form of torture.

CIA launches task force to assess impact of U.S. cables' exposure by WikiLeaks 22 Dec 2010 The CIA has launched a task force to assess the impact of the exposure of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables and military files by WikiLeaks. Officially, the panel is called the WikiLeaks Task Force. But at CIA headquarters, it's mainly known by its all-too-apt acronym: W.T.F. The irreverence is perhaps understandable for an agency that has been relatively unscathed by WikiLeaks. Only a handful of CIA files have surfaced on the WikiLeaks Web site, and records from other agencies posted online  reveal remarkably little about CIA employees or operations.

WTF? OMG, LOL! CIA gives WikiLeaks taskforce naughty name  
US spy agency forms taskforce to assess fallout from 250,000 leaked US cables 22 Dec 2010 The CIA has launched a taskforce to assess the impact of 250,000 leaked US diplomatic cables. Its name? WikiLeaks Task Force, or WTF for short. The group will scour the released documents to survey damage caused by the disclosures. One of the most embarrassing revelations was that the US state department had drawn up a list of information it would like on key UN figures - it later emerged the CIA had asked for the information.

Angry Assange insists: I am not a sexual predator, I just really like women 22 Dec 2010 Julian Assange has claimed the two women he is accused of sexually assaulting merely 'got into a tizzy' after sleeping with him. The WikiLeaks founder angrily denied being a sexual predator, adding: 'I’m not promiscuous. I just really like women.' The whistleblower - who is fighting extradition to Sweden – went on the attack after graphic details emerged of allegations made by Miss A and Miss W, both of whom he is accused of molesting. Assange said the decision by The Guardian - ironically, his partner in releasing hundreds of confidential US cables – to publish leaked Swedish police files about him was 'disgusting'.

 Norwegian Newspaper gets its hands on WikiLeaks cables 23 Dec 2010 A Norwegian newspaper confirmed today that it had gotten hold of the entire file of more than 250,000 secret US embassy cables first leaked to WikiLeaks. Norway's main business newspaper Dagens Naerings reported that Oslo-based Aftenposten became the only media organization in the world to gain direct access to all the documents. It allows them to dodge WikiLeaks' current strategy of drip-feeding the cables to preferred partners The New York Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel and El Pais.

WikiLeaks: Halliburton complained of prices in Iraq 23 Dec 2010 Oil companies working in Iraq complained of a "mafia" type atmosphere [LOL! They should know] that drove the price of security up considerably, leaked U.S. diplomatic cables reveal. Officials at oil services company Halliburton complained the price of security in Iraq was "unwarranted" during a modestly secure environment in 2008, confidential U.S. diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks and published by London's Guardian newspaper reveal.

Rome Bombs: Embassies Face 'Serious Threat' 23 Dec 2010 Police are searching all foreign embassies in Rome following two bomb blasts in the Chilean and Swiss buildings that injured two employees. The Italian foreign minister said there was a "serious threat" against embassies in city. The mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno claimed the explosions were part of a "wave of terrorism".

Bombs explode at Switzerland and Chile embassies in Italy  --Rome police say city on high alert after Swiss national suffers serious hand injury 23 Dec 2010 Bombs exploded at the Chilean and Swiss embassies in Rome today, injuring two employees, at least one of whom risked losing a hand. The first blast came late morning at the Swiss embassy. A member of the staff was opening mail when a package exploded in his hands... Just over two hours later, a second device went off at the Chilean embassy.

Two Parcel Bombs Hit Embassies in Rome  23 Dec 2010 Parcel bombs exploded at the Swiss and Chilean embassies to Italy in the capital on Thursday, injuring two people and raising concerns of possible terrorist attacks in the country's shopper-packed streets ahead of the Christmas holidays. The first package was opened at the Swiss embassy around 12 p.m. local time by a staff worker, Bernardino Regazzoni, the Swiss ambassador said in a television interview. The second parcel bomb exploded at the Chilean embassy around 3 p.m.

Al Qaeda threat involving hotels buffets 'credible,' report says  --CEO: Hospitality employers to include 'See something, say something' cards - developed in conjunction with Homeland Security - in employees' payroll stubs 21 Dec 2010 According to a Monday CBS report receiving much attention today, al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] terrorists have talked about poisoning salad bars and hotel buffets at various U.S. hotels and restaurants over a single weekend. Department of Homeland Security officials have deemed the threat as a "credible" one.

North Korea threatens 'sacred' nuclear war  23 Dec 2010 North Korea today threatened to launch a "sacred" nuclear war against South Korea if it is attacked. The warning came as Seoul staged military exercises that have raised already high tensions on the peninsula. Defence chief Kim Yong Chun said North Korea is "fully prepared to launch a sacred war" - and would use its nuclear capabilities - if attacked and warned the South against intruding onto even the smallest amount on its territory, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

 S Korea stages huge show of military force near border 24 Dec 2010 South Korea has staged its largest military exercise of the year in a huge show of force against North Korea... The drills, conducted just south of the heavily armed border, came a month after a North Korean artillery bombardment against a South Korean island killed four, dramatically raising tensions on the peninsula. About 800 soldiers took part in the exercise - the largest so far this year - which included 30 tanks, armoured personnel carriers, F-15 fighter-jets, artillery pieces, multiple long-range rockets and Cobra helicopter gunships.

South Korea to Stage Military Exercise With Jets, Artillery North of Seoul  --Defense Minister Kim Kwan: Military will remain on alert 22 Dec 2010 South Korea said its military will hold a one-day exercise tomorrow involving jet fighters and mobile artillery in an area between Seoul and the Demilitarized Zone that separates the nation from its neighbor. About 800 military personnel will take part in the drill near Pocheon, approximately 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with North Korea, said a spokesman at the Joint Chiefs of Staff who declined to be named, citing military policy.

Pakistan opposes US military raids  22 Dec 2010 Pakistan has opposed any ground military operations in its territory by US troops amid reports of the US expansion of ground war into the Asian country. Following a New York Times report on Monday about the US expanding of ground operations across the border into Pakistan's tribal areas, a spokesman for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday Pakistan is capable of confronting militants in its tribal regions.

'US-led forces cause terrorism in region'  23 Dec 2010 Iran's Deputy Ambassador to the UN Eshaq Al-e-Habib has said that the spread of terrorism in the region is the result of the presence of US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan. The foreign forces in Afghanistan have failed to uproot terrorism in the country and terrorism has spread to other countries such as Iran, Al-e-Habib said in a UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan on Thursday. "We believe the recent terrorist attack in Chabahar, which led to the death and injury of scores of people, was due to the wrong policy of foreign forces present in our region," Mehr News Agency quoted him as saying. [Every region.]

25K soldiers headed to Afghanistan in 2011 22 Dec 2010 Nearly 25,000 troops will board planes for a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan starting soon after New Year's, the Defense Department has announced. About 18,000 soldiers in five infantry brigade combat teams as well as two combat aviation brigades and a headquarters element will deploy to Afghanistan as part of the regular troop rotations.

 US-led strike kills two in Afghanistan 23 Dec 2010 A police officer and a civilian have been killed when a helicopter under the command of US-led forces opened fire on a car in northern Afghanistan. Faryab province police chief Khalil Andarabi and the governor's spokesman, Ahmad Jawed Bedar, said the vehicle was heading to the provincial capital of Maimana when it was struck. The civilian killed in the incident has been identified as Mohammad Aminuddin, the brother of former Afghan parliament member Sarajuddin Mozafari.

Afghan bomb blast kills 2, injures 4  23 Dec 2010 A massive explosion has rocked the northern province of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, killing two people and injuring four others. The huge blast rocked the capital city of Kunduz province at 8 a.m. local time, eyewitnesses told a Press TV correspondent on Thursday. Four other people were also injured after a bomber blew himself up near a police checkpoint in Konduz province.

US-led forces kill 5 Afghan civilians  22 Dec 2010 At least five civilians have been killed by US-led foreign troops in southern Afghanistan, amid growing discontent over the rising number of civilian fatalities in the war-wracked country. The civilians lost their lives on Tuesday in the province of Helmand's Sangin district, which is a flashpoint for foreign forces in their nine-year war against Taliban militants.

 British soldier killed in Afghanistan 22 Dec 2010 A British soldier has been killed by an explosive device in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, bringing the number of deaths among the UK troops to 347. The soldier was killed while patrolling the Nahr-e Saraj district of the troubled province on Tuesday. He was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED).

New U.S. Sanctions Hit Iran Guard, Shipper  22 Dec 2010 The Obama administration enacted new financial sanctions on Iran's elite military unit and its largest shipping company, as the U.S. intensifies efforts to choke Tehran off from the global financial system. The Treasury Department's announcement Tuesday comes just weeks ahead of a scheduled second round of negotiations in Turkey between Iran and the international community focused on containing Tehran's nuclear program, which Iran says is peaceful in nature.

 Ratification of START nuclear treaty hailed 23 Dec 2010 Nations on Thursday hailed the US ratification of a key treaty slashing US and Russian nuclear arsenals as a boost to international security in a new age of cooperation between the Cold War foes. The START treaty restricts the two nations to a maximum of 1,550 deployed warheads each, a cut of about 30 percent from a limit set in 2002, and 800 launchers and bombers. The Russian parliament could ratify it this week.

Senate ratifies new U.S.-Russia nuclear weapons treaty 22 Dec 2010 The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a new nuclear arms-reduction treaty with Russia, the broadest such pact between the former Cold War foes in nearly two decades. The Senate ratified the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as New START, by a vote of 71 to 26, easily clearing the threshold of two-thirds of senators present as required by the Constitution for treaty ratification. The final vote came after Senate Democrats accepted two amendments designed to placate Republicans who had qualms about the treaty work 24/7 to ensure Obusha doesn't win re-election].

Senate Passes Health-Care Bill for Sept. 11 First Responders 22 Dec 2010 The U.S. Senate approved legislation to help those who responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City. The path for approval on a voice vote was secured earlier today when Senate Republicans agreed to drop their opposition to the legislation. The bill provides for $4.3 billion in additional aid over five years, with $1.5 billion for health benefits and $2.7 billion for compensation, said Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican who had been opposing the bill because of cost concerns [but "forgot" about such concerns when pushing for tax cuts for the rich and his corpora-terrorist overlords].

 Obama signs historic bill ending 'don't ask, don't tell' 22 Dec 2010 President Obama signed historic legislation repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that compelled gay and lesbian servicemembers to hide their sexual orientation. At a ceremony at the Interior Department, Obama thanked "all the patriots...       who were forced to hang up their uniforms" because of the policy, which dates to early in the Clinton administration.

Polar bear status pits environmentalists vs. administration [Um, I'll take the polar bear.] --Advocates for the animals want the status listed as 'endangered,' but such a move is opposed by powerful industry groups. 23 Dec 2010 A dispute about how much the government should protect polar bears has turned into a battleground for environmentalists and some of the country's most powerful business organizations over the larger question of global warming. On Wednesday, the Interior Department filed arguments in federal court defending its decision to classify polar bears as "threatened" rather than "endangered" despite widespread shrinkage of the sea ice that forms the bears' natural habitat.

 W.H.: Polar bears not 'endangered' 22 Dec 2010 The Obama regime is sticking with a George W. Bush-era decision to deny polar bears endangered species status. In a court filing Wednesday, the Fish and Wildlife Service defended the previous administration’s decision to give the polar bear the less-protective "threatened" species designation, a move that will frustrate environmentalists who hoped for stronger protections under the Endangered Species Act. [No Merry Christmas for polar bears: Under cover of his 'Holiday Bad News Dump,' sycophantic sell-out, Barack Obama, has decided that the polar bear doesn't need protection from his oil overlords.]

 Scrubbed up for Christmas: Spike, the orphaned hedgehog gets a festive make-over 23 Dec 2010 This is a baby hedgehog receiving a good old fashioned rub-a-dub after he was found wandering in a garden, unable to roll into a ball. Named Spike, the tiny creature has to be scrubbed clean with a toothbrush because of his delicate skin... Secret World Wildlife Rescue  is the only 24/7 wildlife rescue centre in the South West, annually caring for over 4000 sick, injured and orphaned animals.

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US government builds vast domestic spying network: report 20 Dec 2010 The US government is building a vast domestic spying network to collect information on Americans as part of expanding counter-terrorism efforts, the Washington Post reported Monday. The unprecedented network involves local police, state and military authorities feeding a growing database on thousands of US citizens and residents, even though many have never been charged with breaking the law, the Post reported, citing numerous interviews and 1,000 documents.

Anti-terror raids lead to 12 arrests over multiple bomb attack fears --Sources: Suspected targets included sites in Whitehall, including around Houses of Parliament 20 Dec 2010 Counter-terrorism officials launched a major operation over fears of multiple bomb attacks in Whitehall, central London, and on Christmas shoppers and revellers in the West Midlands, the Guardian has learned. In a series of co-ordinated pre-dawn raids in Stoke, Birmingham, Cardiff and east London, police arrested 12 men aged 17 to 28 and began extensive searches of a number of properties. Sources with knowledge of the operation said the arrests followed intelligence that targets including "public spaces" and shopping areas in the West Midlands were part of a suspected plot.

U.S. Military Seeks to Expand Raids in Pakistan --The decision to expand American military activity in Pakistan would amount to the opening of a new front in the nine-year-old war. 21 Dec 2010 Senior American military commanders in Afghanistan are pushing for an expanded campaign of Special Operations ground raids across the border into Pakistan’s tribal areas, a risky strategy reflecting the growing frustration with Pakistan’s efforts to root out militants there. The proposal, described by American officials in Washington and Afghanistan, would escalate military activities inside Pakistan, where the movement of American forces has been largely prohibited because of fears of provoking a backlash.

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CLG Editor-in-Chief: Lori Price. Copyright © 2010, Citizens For Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved.